An Oklahoma City business was evacuated Thursday and several workers were treated after a chemical solution started smoking and made people nauseous, firefighters said.
Fire Maj. Tammy McKinney said several workers at Macklanburg-Duncan, 4041 N Santa Fe Ave., were mixing a sodium hydroxide solution about 3 p.m. when the solution started smoking and three workers became nauseous.
The building was evacuated and the three workers were treated by emergency workers.
“We've given them oxygen and their symptoms have gotten better,” McKinney said.
Eight other employees were evaluated by paramedics, she said.
Fire Deputy Chief Marc Woodard said the mixing of mislabeled chemicals caused the situation. None of the workers were taken to the hospital, he said.
Macklanburg-Duncan manufactures building products such as weather stripping, flooring and decorative moldings.

Fayetteville Police said Thursday afternoon that a propane blast that injured four employees with the Fayetteville SwampDogs organization was caused by a leak in an LP gas line inside the building.

Four people were injured in the explosion at the J.P. Riddle Stadium on Legion Road.

An entire shift of firefighters has been replaced at a northeast D.C. station after falling ill.

All eight firefighters at Engine 10 Station in the 1300 block of Florida Avenue NE complained of possible symptoms of chemical exposure – like respiratory problems and burning eyes – Wednesday evening, News4’s Jackie Bensen reported.

D.C. Fire and EMS declared a mass casualty hazmat and took the firefighters to the police and fire clinic for observation.

The firefighters could be ill from a fire they fought about 11 a.m. in the 3700 block of Hayes Street NE, officials said. It’s possible it was a PCP lab.

Extra fire crews were called in to cover Engine 10 Station.

to Lauderdale Lakes Middle School Wednesday after reports of several children breaking out in rashes.

The team did not find anything in the classroom that would have prompted the outbreak.

Four students were taken to the hospital as a precaution, according to Broward County school officials.

On May 16th a similar incident happened at McArthur High School, also in Broward County.

Where a dozen students and two teachers were taken to the hospital and released shortly afterward.

The mixture of chemicals in an optometrist's office at 1567 Lemoine Ave. on Tuesday afternoon resulted in a small fire that was quickly doused with a fire extinguisher. 

Fort Lee Fire Chief Keith Sabatino said that the building was evacuated, and because the fire was the result of an unknown chemical mixture, the Bergen County Hazardous Materials Response Team (HazMat) was called in to evaluate the proper response to the incident. 

Bergen HazMat determined that the chemicals used were alcohol-based and gave clearance for the fire department to proceed with ventilating the building before allowing anyone to return.  

A passing police officer heard the activated fire alarm and responded to the call. Both the police officer and a fireman who "took in smoke" were taken to an area hospital for precaution. 

"We're lucky that everyone was safe," Sabatino said. "The goal of every call is to get everyone home safe, and we did."

The chemical that sent a dozen people to the hospital Tuesday following an explosion in an Arlington Heights factory demands caution when working with it, even in laboratory conditions, a chemistry professor said Wednesday.

Kristen Leckrone, an associate professor of chemistry at Roosevelt University, said people expecting to encounter the substance, potassium hydroxide, normally wear gloves, goggles, and sometimes even a respirator if there’s a possibility of it being released into the air.

“It can dissolve and damage lung tissue,” Leckrone said.

According to its material safety data sheet, potassium hydroxide has a fire hazard of 0 on a 4-point scale, Leckrone said. But it has a reactivity rating of 2 out of 4, and a health risk rating of 3 out of 4.

Though not flammable itself, it can react with metals or other substances to produce potentially explosive hydrogen gas, Leckrone said.

As with a strong acid, a strong base like potassium hydroxide can have a caustic effect on the skin and lungs. But what makes a base different from an acid is that it’s more readily absorbed by tissue and thus easier to neutralize than to wash off, Leckrone added.

A dilute solution of weak acids such as vinegar could be used to treat skin burned by potassium hydroxide. But the treatment of potassium hydroxide inhalation or ingestion would be more complicated, she said.

PRINCETON — A Princeton University researcher was treated for chemical burns to her face today when a glass container of acid shattered in a lab in the campus’ new chemistry building.
The female postdoctoral researcher was taken to University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro for minor burns, said Martin Mbugua, a Princeton spokesman. The university did not release her name.
A graduate student who was in the laboratory at the time was also hospitalized as a precaution, Mbugua said. A public safety officer responding to the scene was also taken to the hospital to determine if tingling he experienced in his arm was related to exposure to the acid.
The accident occurred around 1:19 p.m. in a lab in Frick Chemistry Building, campus officials said.
"Nitric acid had been mixed with a solvent in the container, causing a reaction that built up pressure," university officials said in a statement. "When the container broke, the impact forced open the cabinet door, which struck the researcher, bruising her right knee."
The researcher was wearing eye protection and rubber gloves, campus officials said.
About 300 people evacuated the building for about two hours while rescue crews and hazardous materials teams cleared the spill, Mbugua said. About 150 students taking a final exam were moved to another building.

While a researcher fractionally distilled the primary phosphine (C6F5)PH2, which was synthesized by the reduction of (C6F5)PCl2 with an excess of lithium aluminum hydride (LAH), the distillation apparatus containing the phosphine detonated. Fortunately, because the researcher was wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and working in front of a sliding blast shield, only minor injuries resulted from the explosion.

The researcher was following a literature prep for the synthesis of (C6F5)PH2 (Z. Naturforschg.1966, 21b, 920), wherein (C6F5)PCl2 was reduced with an excess (2.1 M equiv based on Li) of LAH. After the reaction was completed, the slurry was filtered and ether was evaporated from the filtrate, yielding an oil and some LAH. This mixture was then extracted into hexanes to remove the remaining LAH, and the resulting phosphine/hexanes mixture was fractionally distilled under N2. After the hexanes were fractionally distilled away and the distillation apparatus was at approximately 50 °C, the apparatus detonated.

The source of the incident is being investigated. Work with this molecule and similar compounds should be conducted carefully until the exact cause of this incident is determined and reported.

DRACUT — More than 50 employees were evacuated from Con-way Freight yesterday morning after employees smelled a chemical odor in a trailer that just arrived at the facility, police and fire officials said.

Three Con-way employees were taken to Saints Medical Center in Lowell for evaluation and possible decontamination as a precaution, said Dracut police Sgt. Gregg Byam. Fire officials said they were released yesterday afternoon and returned to work.

The Con-way Freight building at 22 McGrath Road, at the Methuen line, was evacuated while the state hazmat team investigated a chemical smell released from several boxes in one of the trailers outside the main building, Dracut police said.

Deputy Fire Chief Mike Ralls of Dracut said that there were two chemicals in three boxes that were of concern because they are very hazardous. One was phenyl mercaptan, a chemical described by the Centers for Disease Control as a clear, water-like substance that has a strong, garlic-like odor. It is used in pesticides and to give odor to natural gas, among other uses.

The other was chromium trioxde, a red solid that is used in chrome plating.

Hazmat checked the air of the trailer, which had arrived from New York at about 9:30 a.m., and when they found nothing they went inside and observed a powder on the floor next to the boxes.

After analyzing the powder, the determined it was fumaric acid, a nontoxic substance.

"It's not even a hazardous material," Ralls said.

After a science class fire at Maple Grove Junior High last year left several students injured, Osseo School District did an audit on its teacher-led science classroom demonstrations.

A May 17, 2012 memo from Osseo School District Assistant Superintendent Keith Jacobus to Superintendent Kate Maguire outlined the audit process as well as the results. The demonstration reportedly used in the ninth-grade science class at Maple Grove Junior High on Dec. 1, 2011 was suspended immediately in the district following the accident.

Two workers were injured and at least three vehicles were gutted in a major fire that broke out at Chandigarh distilleries and bottling plant in Banur on Monday. Fire tenders from Mohali, Rajpura, Dera Bassi, Mandi Gobindgarh and Chandigarh took nearly three hours to control the blaze.

The fire started with a blast while spirit was being siphoned into a tanker on the factory premises at around 3.15pm. Within seconds, the fire engulfed two other tankers and a truck holding liquor. The blaze also engulfed an office in the nearby building and a chemical lab.

Sources said around 150 workers were on duty at the time of the incident, who got frightened and some even jumped from the first floor of the building to save their lives.

Reports said supervisor Karamchand of Shakti Nagar in Dera Bassi, who was standing on the tanker to supervise siphoning of spirit, suffered severe burns. A worker Golu fractured his leg as he jumped from the first floor.

DOVER, Ohio - Authorities in Dover have reopened Interstate 77 and said it's safe for residents in the area to go outside following a chemical reaction at the Dover Chemical Corporation.

I-77 north and southbound, from Strasburg to New Philadelphia, reopened at 2 p.m. on Monday after being shutdown around 9:45 a.m.

Around 9:20 a.m., a reactor overheated inside the plant causing a vapor release that resulted in off-gassing of antifreeze.

Reverse 911 calls went out to about 100 residents shortly after the incident, advising them to stay inside and close their windows.

"No employees were injured. We are in the process of cooling the reactor, which appears to be working," said Dover Chemical Corporation President Dwain Colvin. This means there's no longer an explosion threat.

Two drivers along I-77 were taken to nearby hospitals after being overcome by the fumes, complaining of respiratory problems.

Chemical workers weren't affected by the plume because the off-gassing occurred outside the plant. An alarm sounded alerting them of the problem.

PORT ALLEN, LA (WAFB) -
One person was injured, families were evacuated and US 190 is shut down at Bueche Road between Port Allen and Erwinville due to a chemical fire.

Acetylene Fact Sheet
Acetylene is a colorless and odorless gas. Commercial grade Acetylene may have an Ether-like or garlic-like odor. It is used for welding, cutting, brazing and soldering, and in making other chemicals. Click here for more information.

The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) has activated its Crisis Action Team (CAT) because of the fire at the Air Liquide facility.

The fire is at the Air Liquide Specialty Gases plant. It happened around 10:30 a.m. Emergency officials, along with DEQ and a hazardous material team are on the scene to control the fire.

Late Monday afternoon, firemen, company officials and State Police technicians were able to enter the hot zone in order to inspect several cylinders, which were not damaged by the fire.  Several hundred tanks were still on fire.  State Police Air Support assisted technicians in inspecting the fire from the air before crews could enter the site.

One person was taken to the hospital with injuries to their eyes. That person's identity has not yet been released. The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says two tanks of acetylene exploded, however, the public relations office for Air Liquide in Houston says the tanks were empty and waiting to be filled with acetylene.

DALTON, GA. (WRCB)  --  More than two dozen Dalton employees were taken to a local hospital Monday for decontamination after an explosion occurred at the MFG Chemical plant on Callahan Dr.  

"I thought it was a pressure valve releasing," says International Coatings employee, Darrin Locke. "Heard a loud, very loud whistle."

International Coatings sits across the street from the MFG Chemical plant. Employees tell Channel 3 the explosion happened just before 9 Monday morning.

"We saw just some color in the sky. Of course we all made a mad dash for the backside of the building, not sure what was going to take place at that time," Locke says.  

"We have an over-pressured rupture of a reactor," says Dalton Fire Chief Bruce Satterfield.  

"It blew a hole in the roof of the building," adds Bruce Frazier, with the Dalton Police Department.  

The chemical that was being made during the time of the explosion is called coagulant 129. Its a substance used for water treatment and can cause skin irritation or respiratory problems. "Its not the nastiest stuff in the world but you wouldn't want it on your skin or anything," Frazier says.  

Nearly 50 employees from the surrounding area were taken to a local hospital for decontamination. Even a few from International Coatings came forward with symptoms after we talked to them.

"I've got a couple with some irritation to their throats, stuff like that," says Locke.  

All told, 47 people were brought to the Hamilton Medical Center for decontamination.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. - The Osseo School District is making changes to its teacher-led science demonstrations after four students were injured in a classroom accident several months ago.

In the 71-page report, the methanol demonstration that burned the students back in December will not be allowed pending further review. It has not been used in the classroom since the accident.

It's called the "Whoosh - Flash Bottle" demonstration where someone drops a match into a jug of methanol.

The report also calls for a more stringent approval process for science demonstrations, a detailed list of approved demonstrations, and all secondary science teachers will now have to watch videos on science safety.

At least four workers at the toxic chemicals site in Mapua could have been made sick from working on the cleanup and they may suffer further work-related health problems, a report has revealed.

The Environment Ministry, as the main resource consent holders of the project, has accepted the report, and says it is taking steps to offer workers medical assessments.

The controversial $12 million cleanup finished five years ago and the four workers interviewed in the report have been waiting four years for acknowledgement of their health issues.

The Environment Ministry is also taking steps to contact others who worked at the site, previously considered New Zealand's most toxic, and offer them health checks. Thirty people are believed to have worked at the project.

A terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was closed for a time after an unknown chemical sent five people to the hospital with respiratory complaints.

Terminal 2 was evacuated for about two hours Friday as hazardous materials technicians investigated what caused several people to become ill.

The cause remains under investigation, though an airport spokesman says it appears an aerosol can discharged.

Broward County Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles says three Transportation Security Administration agents and two passengers were affected by the irritant.

Investigators collected air samples and determined it was safe for people to re-enter. More than 1,000 passengers have been delayed and several inbound flights were diverted to other airports.

PUPILS had to be evacuated from a secondary school after a chemical alert.

Several fire crews and a hazardous material unit were sent to the school yesterday morning after reports of fumes.

The incident involved chemicals in a science preparation room at Brine Leas school in Nantwich.

The substances which sparked the alert were removed from the building and are now being disposed of by a specialist company.

MIDDLETON, Mass.—A Massachusetts adhesive manufacturer will pay $600,000 in fines for numerous safety infractions after a March 2011 explosion that injured four workers.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration initially had sought fines in excess of $917,000 for Middleton, Mass.-based Bostik Inc. after a six-month investigation revealed several violations of the agency’s rules governing the treatment of hazardous chemicals.

In a statement released Thursday, OSHA officials said the agency ultimately reduced the fine amount, in part to expedite the implementation of improved safety practices at Bostik’s plant.

“This resolution speeds corrective action that might otherwise have been delayed through lengthy litigation,” Michael Felsen, regional solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor in Boston, said in the agency’s statement.

According to the settlement, Bostik has agreed to certain corrective actions to address failures in its chemical safety protocols and to submit proof of those actions to OSHA.

In March 2011, an open valve resulted in the release of flammable acetone vapors, causing the explosion. Bostik since has stopped using acetone in its processing operations.

Research to be published in Science on May 18, 2012, sheds light on a hot-button political issue: the role and effectiveness of government regulation. Does it kill jobs or protect the public?

The new study, co-authored by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Toffel, Professor David Levine of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and Boston University doctoral student Matthew Johnson, examines workplace safety inspections conducted by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). The authors carried out the first evaluation of a "clinical trial" of the state's mandated randomized inspections to discern their effect on both worker safety and companies' bottom lines.

The results overturn conventional wisdom: Workplace inspections do reduce on-the-job injuries and their associated costs, and the researchers could not detect any harm to companies' performance or profits.

"The randomized inspections provided a perfect natural experiment that uses the power of randomization just like a medical clinical trial," Toffel said. "Because Cal/OSHA typically inspects facilities following complaints or recent accidents, you can't study those inspections to get an unbiased understanding of whether they make a difference. By studying the inspections Cal/OSHA conducted at workplaces selected at random, we were able to overcome this problem to learn the actual impact of inspections."

The study found that within high-hazard industries in California, inspected workplaces reduced their injury claims by 9.4 percent and saved 26 percent on workers' compensation costs in the four years following the inspection, compared to a similar set of uninspected workplaces. On average, inspected firms saved an estimated $355,000 in injury claims and compensation for paid lost work over that period. What's more, there was no discernible impact on the companies' profits.

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.

An explosion at the North Central West Virginia Airport burned one man so bad that he was flown to West Penn Hospital Wednesday morning.
 
Bridgeport Police say that two KCI Aviation employees were servicing an oxygen tank on a personal aircraft around 8:45 a.m. when something malfunctioned and caused a chemical explosion.

BOARDMAN, Ore. - Morrow County Sheriff's Deputies say an ammonia leak at a food processing plant in Boardman, Oregon sent seven people to the hospital overnight. The seven people were working at frozen food processor Lamb Weston/Con Agra on Columbia Avenue around 9:45 Tuesday night when the leak was reported. All seven were taken to Good Shepard Hospital in Hermiston. They were treated for respiratory distress and nausea and were released after a few hours. Crews had the leak contained and clean up complete around midnight. No word on a cause or if the processing plant will be open Wednesday.

LORTON, Va. (WUSA) -- The Fairfax County Fire Department has brought a fire under control that injured three people at a business in the Lorton area of the county. The injuries were described as minor.

Firefighters got the call about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a fire and explosion at 10440 Furnace Road. A spokesperson says the fire broke out at a chemical lab. The site houses several businesses including a Five Guys, Stuart Kitchens and American Systems Corp.

Renee Stilwell with Fairfax County Fires says there was a malfunction in an air-handling unit at the lab  and no chemical was involved. The business however, does handle what was described as a "petroleum based product" so a hazmat unit was dispatched to the scene.

NIXON, Texas (AP) - Emergency officials say a fiery explosion at an energy company site in South Texas has left two workers with burns.

The Gonzales County Sheriff's Office says the explosion happened early Wednesday at a Vann Energy location near Nixon.

A sheriff's dispatcher says the workers were hurt during the fracturing process known as fracking. Chemically treated water is used to crack shale and release natural gas.

The dispatcher says both men suffered second-degree burns and have been airlifted to a San Antonio hospital. Their names and further details on their conditions weren't immediately available.

The cause of the accident has not been determined. Some nearby homes were evacuated for about two hours, as a precaution.

FORT COLLINS - A PhD student was injured in an explosion at a lab in the CSU chemistry building this morning while working with fluorine potassium chloride and water, according to Colorado State University spokesman Mike Hooker.

A vial of liquid exploded, and the student was taken to Medical Center of the Rockies for treatment.

"He was cut by the glass from that vial," Hooker said, adding that he hasn't yet confirmed other injuries. 

The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m., and the scene was deemed to be safe enough not to stage an evacuation. CSU Environmental Health Services cleaned up the chemicals.

Hooker said he didn't yet know what occurred with the compounds to cause the explosion.

INVESTIGATIONS have begun into what went wrong during a science experiment that left two Tumbarumba High School students with facial burns yesterday.
A boy and girl, both 15, suffered superficial burns after an explosion involving a Bunsen burner about 9.30am.

The pair were in a stable condition at Wagga Base Hospital last night.

NSW Education Department spokesman Grant Hatch said the explosion happened during a year 9, period one class.

The students were undertaking a practical science lesson supervised by an experienced teacher, he said.

A crucible being heated on a Bunsen burner by a group of three students exploded, injuring two students.

The teacher and other staff immediately applied first aid until paramedics arrived.

The Southcare helicopter was called but was not needed.

Mr Hatch said instructions for the experiment were provided on the board and in a textbook.

Measured chemicals were provided to each group by the teacher.

Mr Hatch did not know what chemicals were involved.

The school was continuing investigations into the cause. Police were also on the scene.

“Inquiries are continuing but unless there’s some kind of criminal activity the investigation will be handed to WorkCover,” Albury Insp John Wadsworth said.

A fire investigator and WorkCover inspector were at the school yesterday afternoon conducting a preliminary investigation into the explosion.

Mr Hatch said students and teachers would be provided counselling.

He said the school was not severely damaged by the explosion but that the lab had been shut to allow for a clean-up.

GEISMAR, LA (WAFB) -
A hazardous materials team has been called out to Westlake Vinyl in Ascension Parish after a power outage and chemical release Wednesday.

According to officials at Westlake, the power failure around 4 p.m. resulted in a release of a substance. The substance and the amount that was released is not known at this time. That is why the hazardous materials team was called.

There were no serious injuries reported, however, three contractors were taken to the hospital as a precaution and released.

This is the second time since March the hazardous materials team has been called to Westlake Vinyl. In March, an explosion and fire lead to a chemical release. The plant had just reopened Wednesday following repairs.  The Department of Environmental Quality said there was no threat to people in the area following that incident.

GOBLES - A rural Gobles man is lucky to be alive after his suspected meth lab exploded Sunday, burning him severely, Van Buren County Sheriff's officers said.

The man, 52, is in stable condition in a medically induced coma at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo following the 5:23 a.m. meth fire, Sgt. Dan Abbott said.

Police did not identify the man because no arrest warrant has yet been issued.

But a neighbor identified him as John "Johnny" Uminn.

His mother drove him to Bronson after the fire and explosion in the garage at 27242 12th Ave. in Pine Grove Township, and Uminn told hospital staff what had happened.

Police said they then obtained a search warrant and found the suspected meth lab and lab components in the garage. Uminn's mother told police her son was so badly burned that skin was falling off his hands, and police found some of his fingernails in the garage.

A construction worker fell through a rotted roof into an acid tank in New Jersey on Monday, suffering severe burns before his co-worker jumped in to pull him out, officials said.

The second man was also burned, but less severely.

The men were working for a roofing company to replace the roof at 1 Clifton Boulevard in Clifton, N.J.

Fire officials said the first worker fell through the weakened part of the roof into the tank below, which was used for cleaning steel.

He suffered burns from head to foot, and was not responsive when rescuers arrived, officials said. His co-worker who jumped in also had signs of burns but was more lucid after the fall and was able to rinse himself off.

He was taken to the hospital along with the first man.

Three other workers also helped the two acid-soaked men. They were also taken to the hospital.

Clifton fire officials said the building work had no permits and was being investigated.

WILDOMAR ---- One person was hurt Monday while helping to extinguish a fire that started in a swimming pool pump at a home in Wildomar, authorities said.

Firefighters with the Riverside County Fire Department responded at 11:25 a.m. to a report of a blaze at a home on Sellers Road, according to a report by Cheri Patterson, a spokeswoman for the department.

A leaky swimming pool pump caught fire, and pool chemicals that were nearby were partially burned, according to the report.

A neighbor who helped extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived was having problems breathing, the report said. The person was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries.

Hazardous materials officials with county and state fire departments investigated the incident and determined that a relatively small amount of chemicals had leaked from the pump, and the leak did not endanger the community, according to the report.

GARDEN CITY, Mich. -
A Garden City apartment complex is back to normal after a resident called in an exterminator to get rid of bed bugs, and then created a hazmat situation.

A resident at the Village Lake Apartments sprayed for bed bugs on Saturday afternoon, but entered their apartment before the three hour wait time. That caused the fumes from the extermination to leak into the hallways, according to fire officials.

One person was sent to the hospital, but has since been released. Several people complained of breathing problems

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- Three men were taken to area hospitals after they ingested chemicals released on the Intel campus Saturday, and a fourth man was treated for skin exposure.
An Intel hazardous materials team responded just before 11 a.m. to a report that the four employees had been exposed to the chemicals, made up mostly of sodium nitrate, a Hillsboro Fire Department official told KGW.
Primary and secondary safety procedures failed during a chilling process, he said.
The men were decontaminated on site in the Ronler Acres area of the campus. Soon afterward they started to experience symptoms and fire crews were called in.
Two of the men who had ingested the chemicals were taken by ambulance to Providence St. Vincent Hospital, and the third was taken to Tuality Hospital. All three men were expected to be released Saturday evening.

ARLINGTON — A student suffered minor injuries in an accident Thursday evening in the Chemistry and Physics Building at the University of Texas at Arlington.

UTA spokeswoman Kristin Sullivan said a student was capping a bottle of nitric acid and the bottle broke. The student was treated at the scene.

LOS ANGELES - A worker for an independent construction firm suffered minor burns today after he broke a one-inch gas line and ignited leaking gas outside the track stadium at USC, according to fire department and gas company spokesmen.
The broken gas line at 3470 S. McClintock Ave., near Loker Stadium and Cromwell Field, was reported just before 8 a.m., fire department spokesman Erik Scott said.
"The department dispatched 27 firefighters and a Hazmat team to the site of the break," Scott said. "We also notified Southern California Gas, which sent repair crews to the scene."
Firefighters flooded the break area with water to keep the location cooled down until the gas company could shut off the leaking gas, Scott said.
"One adult male, a construction worker who reportedly broke the line, was treated at the scene for minor burns but was not transported to a hospital," Scott said. "We completed our work at left the scene around 10:30 a.m."

Natrona County Fire crews responded to a science experiment gone wrong this morning at Midwest High School. A small fire from a chemical reaction caused the incident that investigators describe as accidental. One student was treated and released with a chemical burn.

Natrona County Fire Investigator Dave Baker, says they got the call around 9am

“There was smoke in the hallway and in one of the class rooms. Upon interior examination they found an area in the chemistry lab where there as a small fire, but the fire had actually burned itself out.”

Baker says there was no structure damage and the fire was isolated to a counter top. He declined to release any more details about the chemicals involved until the investigation is complete, but he did say it was an experiment they’d done many times before without incident.

No explosion or chemical release accompanied the fire.

The incident occurred just after 9am.  First responders isolated the area and classes were sent home for the day.

A SCIENCE teacher suffered burns after a chemical exploded during a demonstration to pupils at Garstang Community Academy.

The teacher was conducting a experiment in a science laboratory using silver nitrate when the chemical flared up, leaving her with burns to her face and hands.

Paramedics were called to the scene at 10.52am yesterday and were joined by 10 firefighters from Garstang and Lancaster and police.

The 49-year-old woman was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital. No pupils were hurt.

There was no fire for crews to extinguish, but there was damage to a desk and a wall.

EDDING, Calif. -- A methamphetamine lab is blamed for an apartment explosion in Redding early Wednesday morning.
It happened in 1400 block of Orange Avenue in Redding about 12:30 a.m.
One man suffered severe burns and was taken from the scene by ambulance. He was treated at Mercy Medical Center.
"He had skin and plastic hanging off of him," said Trenton Duncan, who helped pull the burned man out of the burning apartment. "He was pretty bad."

STURGIS – Two police officers had to be treated after a meth lab explosion.

Sturgis police were originally called to a fight at an apartment on East Hatch Street early Wednesday morning. They found two people with injuries and a blood trail to another apartment with smoke coming from under the door.

When the two officers entered, they were exposed to meth fumes. They were treated and released for illness and symptoms from the exposure.

Fire personnel were called in for hazmat containment and to decontaminate one of the suspects. Police arrested both suspects on meth charges.

ST. HELENS -- A simmering dispute between neighbors in a duplex led to an apparent chemical attack early Wednesday morning that drew hazmat crews to the scene, police said.
Four people in an upstairs unit were taken to the hospital after reporting headaches, nausea and vomiting, St. Helens Police Chief Steve Salle told KGW.
Patrick Stangis, 50, who lives below the victims, was arrested for assault, reckless endangering and menacing.
Salle said Stangis admitted he was responsible for making the upstairs residents ill by pumping an unspecified chemical agent into the vents to their unit.

Two students were taken to Christchurch Hospital after an explosion at Canterbury University.

Police, St John and the Fire Service rushed to the University of Canterbury's Rutherford building after reports of a "small explosion" at 12.36pm, a Fire Service spokesman said.

Science vice-chancellor Professor Paul Fleming said a male research student was working in a laboratory on the sixth floor of the Rutherford building when a flask exploded.

"He has some injuries to his hand," he said.

A female student in the lab suffered neck injuries.

A St John spokesman said the two students were taken to Christchurch Hospital with minor injuries.
...
Burford did not know what type of chemical was involved, but there was no risk to people in the area.

TANEY COUNTY, Mo. -- A Taney County family is recovering after they were sickened by toxic fumes from chemicals used to clear a clogged pipe. The incident happened at a home on the 900 block of Painter Road on Thursday night.

A hazardous materials team targeted the source of the fumes to the kitchen where one of the residents used three types of acid in an effort to clear the drain. Firefighters spent two hours removing the plumbing in the kitchen plumbing and cleaning up all the chemicals.

Assistant Chief, Bruce Bjorge with the Western Taney County Fire District said, "This incident serves as a good reminder to everyone that when individuals use household chemicals for any purpose special care should be taken to use them properly.  However this is especially true when stronger chemicals are going to be used.  Examples would be chemicals used to strip paint, clear clogged drains, and other purposes or when they say industrial or professional strength.  Be sure to read the labels on the packages and know how to use the products as they were intended.  People should refrain from mixing chemicals of any type unless they are following specific instructions for a specific purpose."

DAYTONA BEACH -- A man was severely burned in an explosion Friday morning while making methamphetamine at a Fairway Estates house known for drug activity, police said.

The Daytona Beach Police Department at 6:50 a.m. learned Kenneth Roberts, 44, had burns and injuries consistent with chemical exposure, possibly a meth lab explosion or related fire, according Detective John Creamer, police spokesman.

Roberts' injuries were so severe he was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center to treat his burns. He was in stable condition later Friday, Creamer said.

Officers responding to 1210 Margina Ave. found the remnants of a fire consistent with materials used in the production of methamphetamine.

At least eight veterinary workers have been poisoned by exposure to potentially lethal phosphine gas when dogs being treated for ingesting pest-killing chemicals have thrown up in their offices, and health officials suspect there may be other unreported cases as well. All of the human victims recovered with no lasting effects, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that more serious incidents could occur and cautioned veterinarians to be alert.

Zinc phosphide is a widely used rodent killer. When it is ingested, contact with stomach acid and water produces phosphine gas, which is highly toxic. If the animals are induced to regurgitate the poison -- standard procedure -- phosphine gas can be released into the office, exposing workers.

In one such incident reported in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Thursday, a 70-pound dog that had eaten rodenticide was brought into a veterinary hospital in Michigan. When vomiting was induced with hydrogen peroxide, two workers were poisoned by exposure to the resulting gas. One technician reported shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, headache and nausea. An office manager reported similar symptoms, as well as lightheadedness. Four other workers reported only one symptom, such as chest tightness, chest pain or headache, and were not considered poisoned. All six recovered without hospitalization.

Liverpool (WSYR-TV) -- A science class demonstration turned dangerous at a Liverpool middle school Thursday. Three students and a teacher ended up in the hospital with burns. Two of the students are still being treated.

“The first thing that we saw was…there were kids laying in the hallway and that is a pretty horrible sight,” said Liverpool Superintendent, Dr. Richard Johns.

By the time Johns was called to Soule Road Middle School, fire trucks and ambulances surrounded the main door. Inside an eighth grade science room, three students and a teacher were being treated for serious burns.

"The teacher told me that he'd performed this experiment dozens of times in his career and never had a problem with it, but something went wrong, horribly wrong this time,” Dr. Johns told NewsChannel 9.

The teacher was holding a jar of methanol when fumes ignited; it created a flash fire, burning the students nearby.

Rescuers found one young girl burned from the waist up. Another child's eyebrows and lashes were singed by the heat, even though she was wearing goggles.

"Her collar had obviously started on fire and it had burned her nape and the back of her back pretty significantly,” Dr. Johns continued.

GREER, S.C. --
A delivery truck driver in Greer was taken to the hospital after a package on the truck was leaking liquid.

The Greer Fire Department says the driver was overcome with fumes.

After investigating, Hazmat crews found the package contained a basic cleaning solven for paint.

The driver is out of the hospital and is reported to be fine.

Greer fire and police officials, as well as the Greenville Hazmat Team, were called to where the UPS truck was on Aaron Tippin Drive Thursday morning.

Eighty people were evacuated following a chemical incident at a Croydon hotel yesterday.

Firefighters from New Addington fire station were called to the Selsdon Park Hotel, Addington Road, just before 6.43pm to reports of an automatic fire alarm going off.

When the crew arrived they discovered there was a chemical incident, with the wrong quantities of sodium hypochlorite and sodium bisulphate mixed in the hotel's leisure centre.

London ambulance were called and one person was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of inhaling chemical fumes.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A truck driver unloading bleach from a 300-gallon plastic container was injured and most of the bleach was lost when the tank's pressure system malfunctioned and pumped bleach into the street, a fire official said Wednesday.
Acting Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph R. Desmarais said the solution of 12.5 percent bleach spilled on the leg of the driver for Roberts Chemical. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with an injury that was not life-threatening, Desmarais said.
The bleach was being pumped into Monarch Metal Finishing, 189 Georgia Ave, when the spill occurred at about 10:30 a.m., Desmarais said. Clean Harbors contained and removed bleach that spilled in the street, he said.

VINA, Ala.- One man was injured in a house fire investigators believe was caused by a meth lab explosion.

Vina fire and Hodges/Vina police responded to residence on hwy 19 in Vina around 6 p.m. Monday. When they arrived emergency first responders found 33-year-old Johny Bell with possible chemical burns.

Bell was transported to Eliza Coffee Hospital where he was treated for possible chemical burns and turned over to law enforcement on drug drug charges.

On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, a gardener was seriously injured when he stepped on some gravel in the yard of a San Diego-area home and the ground exploded beneath his feet. Subsequent investigation of the house and its grounds revealed what authorities called the largest cache of homemade explosives ever found in the U.S. They deemed the house too dangerous to clean out and burned it down instead.
At the American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego last month, in a symposium organized by the Division of Chemical Health & Safety, officials described how the incident unfolded.
Fire and ambulance crews initially responded to the scene; then they called the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department when they realized that the gardener’s injuries were from an explosion, said Nick Vent, an environmental health specialist in the Hazardous Materials Division of the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.
Sheriff’s officers subsequently took the house resident, George Djura Jakubec, then 54, into custody for questioning; brought in bomb squad and hazmat crews; and evacuated the neighbors. The property is in a residential area, on unincorporated land but surrounded by the city of Escondido in northern San Diego County. It is also a few hundred feet from Interstate 15.

A Phoenix bagel shop had to be evacuated Saturday after a carbon monoxide leak left seven employees in need of medical treatment.

Two workers at Einstein Bros. Bagel went home ill Saturday morning after complaining of dizziness, nausea and of feeling lightheaded.

One went to the hospital where they were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning, The Arizona Republic reported.

The hospital alerted the fire department, who arrived at the bagel shop about 1:40 p.m. Firefighters discovered a leak in the hood of a stove and closed the shop.

Five more employees were discovered to be displaying the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, and three were taken to the hospital but were in stable condition, said Dorian Jackson, a spokesman for the Phoenix Fire Department.

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Emergency crews responded to the scene of a HAZMAT situation at an apartment building on Greenfield in Detroit.

EMS, Detroit Police, the fire department and HAZMAT crews were on the scene.

The building was being sprayed for bed bugs, but some of the residents did not leave the building.

Emergency crews could be seen hosing down individuals and taking residents away by ambulance.

Officials tell Action News eight to ten people were taken to area hospitals to be treated.

A BACKYARD father and son chemical experiment has backfired, with the teenage boy left with serious burns to his hands.

The 14-year-old and his father were trying to recreate tests the boy had learnt in the school science laboratory in the garden of their Springhall Pde home in Pascoe Vale South.

But the chemicals exploded just before noon and the boy suffered full thickness burns to both hands.

The police, MFB and paramedics were called to the home, with the MFB’s scientific officer called to advise on the handling and disposal of the volatile chemicals.

Magnesium, one of the main chemicals they had been playing with, reacts explosively with other agents and the intense fire it creates cannot be extinguished with water.

The boy was taken to the Royal Children's Hospital burns unit in a serious condition.

A police spokeswoman said it was not a criminal matter and police would not be investigating.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Several people were treated outside a Marietta medical school on Friday morning.

Hazat crews swarmed the Everest Institute after reports of people being exposed to Methacrylate Momoner, a surgical super glue. A building at the school was evacuated around lunchtime.

“This type of vial was broken in the classroom, and they disposed of it outside in the Dumpster. This is a surgical type of bonding that they use when they do surgery,” Cobb County Fire Department spokeswoman Denell Boyd said.

Channel 2’s Ross Cavitt was at the scene as patients were being decontaminated. Those  who came into "sniffing range" of the chemical suffered symptoms including, nausea, vomiting and eye and ear irritation, officials said. Boyd said four of 13 patients had been decontaminated. At least 7 people were transported to Kennestone Hospital for non-life-threatening conditions.

Two people were taken to hospitals after firefighters responded to reports of a chemical odor at the Luther Burbank Elementary School on the Northwest Side, officials said.

An EMS Plan 1 and a Level 1 Hazmat were called at the school in the 2000 block of North Mobile Avenue in the Galewood neighborhood, according to fire media information.

At least five ambulances were sent to the school as a precaution.

Initial reports said the odor may have been pepper spray from the exterior of the school that came in through ventilation, officials said.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, there was no apparent evidence of pepper spray in the interior of the school, but it was detected in a meter reading, officials said.

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. -- Roads in Queensbury are back open after a natural gas leak Thursday afternoon. It started near one of the area's largest manufacturing plants.

About a half mile of Bay Road was closed for a little bit, but is now reopened.

Around noon, the Queensbury Central Fire Department responded to a leaking tank on an abandoned Bay Road property that sits next to CR Bard's medical device manufacturing plant.

The fire chief says the leak was caused by someone who didn't realize the tank was full and cut into it while trying to salvage scrap metal.

Because the break was in a line and not the valve, crews were unable to stop the leak.

While there were no forced evacuations, CR Bard, which employs a few hundred people and uses numerous chemicals, stopped production for the day.

It is unclear how much gas was in the tank.

PIKE TWP., Ohio — A massive blaze at an oil company took firefighters six hours to get under control Thursday and will require an extensive environmental cleanup.
...
The fire started about 11 a.m. as R.D. Holder crews loaded a semi-tanker, said company owner Bob Holder.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but King believed it ignited while workers transferred a fluid from one tank to another. It was not immediately known what type of fluid was being transferred.

After about 45 minutes, firefighters ordered first responders and company employees back as the blaze spread. Transformers exploded and electric lines fell on the scene about 12:45 p.m., forcing firefighters back even more. And as the fire spread, the building began to collapse.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A 25-year-old man suffered burns after a house explosion in Louisville's Butchertown neighborhood.
According to the Louisville Fire Department, the injured man was responsible for the explosion.

Louisville firefighters found fire and haze on the upper floor and outside they discovered structural damage to the back of the building. Because of the volatile chemicals involved in meth production, firefighters initially backed out of the building, which houses four apartment units.

“We started treating it as a meth lab situation,” said Louisville Fire Department Capt. Salvador Melendez.

After further investigating, they discovered it wasn't a meth lab, but was instead a marijuana-drying operation. Officials said more than a pound of marijuana was discovered.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- Hazmat, police and fire crews have evacuated the parking lot of the old Fred Meyer where INL buses park on North Yellowstone in Idaho Falls.
Idaho Falls Fire/EMS Division Chief Dave Coffey said that a cylinder full of boron trifluoride broke, causing the gas to leak.
The gas is hazardous, but does not pose a danger to the public.
Crews took advantage of the windy weather, which allowed them to let the gas leak out and dissipate in a controlled manner.
"There's no danger to the public," Coffey said. "We want to make sure that everyone's aware of that. And this was non-radiological, just a hazardous material -- a hazardous gas, actually -- that has been mitigated at this time."
Two West One Logistics employees, who contract with the INL and manage the evacuated property, were exposed to the boron trifluoride. They were both evaluated at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and have since been released.

WACO (April 18, 2012)—Two coeds who were working with chemicals including a mixture of ethanol and food dye passed out Wednesday afternoon in a Baylor University chemistry lab, but it’s not clear why.

Initial reports indicated that the two students might have been overcome by fumes, but a university spokeswoman said Wednesday evening there was no evidence of any chemical spill or of any dangerous, toxic or hazardous gasses or fumes in the lab.

The two coeds both regained consciousness and walked away from the room as the students were evacuated from the lab, the university said.

The instructor followed established procedures, opening up a vent hood and shutting off natural gas before leaving the lab, the university said.

No other classrooms were evacuated.

Colorado Springs Police were treated for chemical exposure after they investigated a burglary in north Colorado Springs Tuesday night.

According to police, officers were called to 4502 Misty Drive to investigate a burglary about 11 p.m., but when they arrived they began to suffer from burning, itchy eyes.

When they stepped out of the home, they continued to have symptoms and had headaches and burning throats. The Colorado Springs hazardous materials team investigated, and discovered that the homeowner had been using chemicals to refine silver and the officers had been exposed. The officers were treated by paramedics and their symptoms quickly faded.

An Arlington Heights man was burned and a firefighter was injured in a Wednesday night house fire that exploded in the man’s basement, but officials said their injuries could have been much worse.

The man was able to escape the smoky basement after chemical fumes exploded in his face, and firefighters pulled out of the building just before the first floor collapsed.

“We got out just in time,” said Arlington Heights fire Lt. Ray Loch.

Firefighters evacuated the house after a firefighter in a stairwell was thrown back during a flashover, injuring him.

The first floor collapsed shortly after firefighters went into a defensive position, Loch said.

The homeowner was working to plug a hole with a flammable material when, fire officials believe, the water heater kicked on and ignited fumes from the patching material about 5 p.m.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Three people have been sent to a hospital for treatment and other employees were evacuated because of a carbon monoxide leak at a Fayetteville plant.

Fire Department Battalion Chief Mauro Campos says three people were transported from Elkhart Products Corp. Tuesday morning, and a fourth person was treated at the scene. They complained of disorientation and nausea.

Campos says all four people, whose names weren't released, are expected to make a full recovery.

He says one person complained Monday night about symptoms consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning, and more people had similar complaints on Tuesday. Officials evacuated employees from around the area of the leak, but work continued in other parts of the plant.

General Motors Co. officials say damage could hit $5 million following an explosion last week in a battery-testing lab at its Tech Center in Warren, according to a police report obtained by The Detroit News. The blast injured an employee who remained in the hospital Tuesday.

GM Facility Manager Mo Abraham, and Krishon Davis, who works in GM fire prevention, told Warren police that damage "could reach the $5 million mark."

A separate Warren Fire Department report from last Wednesday's explosion estimated $3 million in damage, with property losses at $1 million and contents at $2 million. Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams said Tuesday he estimates the loss is closer to $3 million than $5 million. The figure could change when a full fire investigation report is completed.

GM said last week the explosion was created by gases that vented from an experimental battery pack inside an enclosed room in its battery lab in the Alternative Energy Center building. GM likened the incident to a natural gas explosion, as gases from a battery gathered in the room during extreme testing and ignited.

GM would not comment directly Tuesday on damage estimates cited in the reports.

PEMBERTON TWP., N.J. - April 16, 2012 (WPVI) -- Nine people, including police and EMTs, were sickened during a hazmat investigation in Burlington County.

The incident took place shortly after 8:00 p.m. along the 400 block of Cherokee Drive in Pemberton Township.

Fire crews responded for the report of a foul odor making residents sick.

Fire and hazmat crews set up a decontamination station.
During the investigation, those sickened were rushed to Deborah Hospital in Browns Mills and Virtua Hospital in Mount Holly.

None of the injuries are believed to be life threatening.

All are expected to be treated and released.

Police say the cause of the odor appears to be household chemicals that had been mixed together.

It's not clear if anyone will be cited in connection with the incident.

General Motors Co. was quick to fend off new fears about electric cars Wednesday, after the company said an explosion was caused by gases venting from an experimental battery pack inside a battery lab at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren. The explosion led to the hospitalization of one employee.

The 8:45 a.m. incident inside a small room at the lab was likened by GM to a natural gas explosion, as gases from a battery gathered in the room during extreme testing and ignited. GM said the battery pack remained intact.

One worker who was injured was being kept for observation overnight at an area hospital, said GM spokesman Alan Adler. He declined to release the extent of the man's injuries, nor what he did in the lab.

Four other people were evaluated by medical personnel after the explosion blew out windows and damaged at least part of the global battery lab inside the Alternative Energy Center.

The Detroit automaker, just a few hours after the incident, was quick to point out that the battery being tested was unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle.

A semi-truck, traveling south on state Road 44 about five miles south of Manila, rolled spilling unknown amounts of a chlorite solution, and injuring the driver.
State Road 44, which connects from Highway 191 to Manila near Flaming Gorge, was shut down around 1:30 p.m. but was back open about an hour later, according to Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Rex Olsen.
The driver, the only person in the truck at the time, was taken by air ambulance to a Salt Lake City area hospital, according to Daggett County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Karen Peterson.
Peterson said the spill is “a type of toxin, but it's not explosive or hazardous in any type of fire, but it can harm if touched or inhaled.”
Uintah County Fire Marshall Jeremy Raymond said a hazmat crew was dispatched from Vernal to clean up a chlorite solution, “basically a bleach solution.”
UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson said 11-12 containers filled with the bleach solution spilled, and each was damaged in some way. Our reporter on scene said the containers could have been holding 300-500 gallons.
Johnson said the spill was “above a water source, but not in a water source,” and there was “no immediate threat...to a water source.”

MAPLETON —
A fire Friday night at a chemical manufacturer sent three firefighters to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Timber Hollis Fire Chief Guadalupe Arteaga said firefighters were dispatched a little after 8 p.m. on reports of a medium-sized fire at Lonza Inc. Within 30 minutes, Arteaga said firefighters were able to get the fire under control with the help of fire brigade personnel from Lonza’s emergency response team.

Two firefighters from Timber Hollis and one member of Lonza’s team were transported by ambulance to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Units from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department and Glasford Police Department were on scene to assist in the event that traffic had to be shut down on Route 24, but no hazardous materials or other airborne agents were released into the air as a result of the fire.

ROCK HILL, SC (WBTV) - It was not the first stop to cook meth for the suspects, Robert Catoe and Heather Latham in York County.  The Multi Jurisdictional Drug Task Force Commander Marvin Brown says they've discovered now six different motels in York County where they know the duo had been making the drugs.

He also told WBTV's Trent Faris through the course of the investigation that number could triple.

Brown said Catoe and Latham would check into the motels under aliases, moving their meth making materials around by van.

Friday, while she was cleaning the room the owner of the Hillside Motel told WBTV when Catoe and Latham checked in last week they told her they were moving to Rock Hill from Arizona and need a place to stay while they looked for a house to buy.

"They jumped from motel room to motel room cooking meth and we knew that so we tried to hone in on them to try and stop this before someone got hurt," said Brown

The owner who didn't want to be identified went on to say Latham would pay for their stay every day, and three days prior to the bust Catoe paid the bill.  The change prompted her to have her house keeper check on the room and nothing was out of the ordinary.

Almost 1 000 employees fled their offices in the Randburg CBD this morning after gas leaked into the ventilation system at their work premises.

JDG Trading, based in Kent Avenue, was in chaos as employees were evacuated. Five were seriously injured from gas inhalation.

Netcare spokesman Jeff Wicks said a mid-morning emergency call was made from the building after staff complained of tickling throats and difficulty breathing.

Paramedics and hazard material (hazmat) teams rushed to the scene.

Eight people received treatment at the scene. Five were in respiratory distress. The eight were quickly moved to a medical station set up further away from the noxious gases.

By 11am the five were stable.

Hazmat teams were still trying to find the source of the leak about 11am. Paramedics were unable to confirm what type of gas had leaked.

A man was burned by chlorine gas Friday morning after the chemical leaked at a pool supply store near the US 41 bypass.

According to Sarasota County Fire Department Capt. Susan Pearson, at around 10 a.m., a tank on a chlorine truck suddenly released more than 30 gallons of the gas.

“They called in the calvary, but it wasn’t really an explosion,” Pearson said.

The worker was burned by the gas, Pearson said. She was not sure if he was the driver or an employee of the store, but was taken to Venice Memorial Hospital for treatment. No one else was injured, she said.

SAN ANTONIO -
Three children were sent to the hospital following a hydrochloric acid vapor leak at a Northwest Side fitness club Thursday evening.

Hazmat crews were called the Spectrum Fitness Club in the 11700 block of Bandera Road after the children and three other teens began complaining of burning eyes, coughing and throat irritation in the pool area.

Fire officials say the vapor leak was caused by an apparent malfunction with a pump attached to a container with the hydrochloric acid.

The three children were taken to the hospital for treatment. The teens were treated at the scene.

BRICK — Emergency crews responded Thursday morning to a Reedy Drive home for a report of a house that had become filled with fumes.

The culprit: a clogged commode.

The resident of the home, 74-year-old Robert Byrne, had poured bleach into a stopped-up toilet in his upstairs bathroom the previous night, according to Capt. John E. Rein Jr. of the township police. Noticing Thursday morning that the bleach didn’t do the trick, Byrne dumped sulfuric acid into the toilet.

The chemical mixture set off an alarming reaction, causing a foam buildup and fumes to fill the home, Rein said. The fumes caused Byrne breathing difficulties and he was sent to Ocean Medical Center in town for treatment. His dog, too, was affected by the exposure and was turned over to a relative, Rein said.

General Motors employee who was seriously injured in a battery lab explosion Wednesday is expected to stay in the hospital for another day, a spokesman said this morning.

The unidentified man was taken to a St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit after chemical gases ignited during battery tests Wednesday morning at the GM Technical Center in Warren.

GM spokesman Alan Adler confirmed that the injured man would stay at the hospital today but did not have any more details.

The battery lab sustained “significant” structural damage and equipment was also damaged in the blast, a fire department official said.

GM said the Alternative Energy Center, where the explosion occurred, would be open today – except for the battery lab and nearby offices.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the explosion involved batteries manufactured by A123 Systems for the forthcoming electric version of the Chevrolet Spark.

GM declined to confirm the source of the battery that was involved in the incident.

A123 has come under scrutiny after reporting manufacturing defects in batteries delivered to electric vehicle start-up Fisker Automotive.

But GM has said researchers put batteries through rigorous stress tests – and analysts said accidents weren’t altogether uncommon in the early days of a new technology.

HUDSON, NC (WBTV) - At least person was injured in a furniture finishing plant explosion Thursday afternoon.

The incident was reported just before 3 p.m. at the RPM Chemical Coatings plant on U.S. 321 in Hudson, according to emergency officials.
...
Hudson Fire Chief Tommy Courtner said the fire happened at 2:29 p.m. and firefighters had it under control in about 30 minutes.

The fire started when a worker was mixing chemicals in the paint and coating tank when there was a flash.

All 250 people working in the plant were evacuated as a precaution, Courtner said.

16-year-old boy was taken to Straub Clinic and Hospital just before noon today following a minor explosion in a Mililani High School chemistry classroom.

A teacher was conducting an experiment with methanal when a chemical flash explosion happened in the boy's face, an Emergency Medical Service spokesman said. Paramedics took the boy to the hospital in serious condition. The incident occurred at 11:35 a.m.

WOOSTER -- After two deputies became sick after a January meth lab bust in Orrville, law enforcement officers now handle suspects differently.

Medway Drug Enforcement Agency and five area law enforcement agencies participated in a raid on a large-scale methamphetamine lab operating at 861 McGill St., Orrville.

A couple of deputies who were transporting the suspects started suffering from headaches, and they became a little nauseated, Medway Director Dave Smith said. He believes they were overcome by fumes coming off of the clothing of the suspects, he added.

The chemicals used to make methamphetamines are extremely dangerous, said Rittman Sgt. Robert Shows, who was involved in the January bust (he was not among those who were overcome by fumes). "Everything in it is flammable, carcinogenic or explosive," he said.

So, the new policy requires the suspects to be stripped out of their clothes and placed in jumpsuits.

"It keeps our transporting officers safer," Sheriff Thomas G. Maurer said.

NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- Hazmat crews cleaned up a large chlorine spill at a school in Newburgh at around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Fire officials said workers were changing a pump for the swimming pool at Newburgh Free Academy when a valve broke. About 150 gallons of chlorine spilled into the building.

Hazmat crews from Orange County and West Point were called in to help remove the liquid. Normally, the school would have been filled with kids, but the schedule prevented that.

"Fortunately no kids in the school, this week was spring break, so it really reduced the size of the problem here today," said Newburgh Fire Chief Michael Vatter.

Three of the maintenance workers were taken to the hospital for evaluation for chlorine inhalation.

Fire broke out at a chemical factory and its storage godown in Kathwada GIDC near Odhav on Wednesday. The fire caused widespread damage in the factory as sudden blasts in barrels filled with solvent and other chemicals took place. The solvents are used as raw material to make varnish.

The chemical factory, in Annapurna Estate, Kathwada GIDC, that caught fire was owned by Vinay Goswami. The cause of the fire is unknown as it broke out at 2pm, and in minutes spread to the other parts of the factory. The fire officials, after being informed about the incident, reached the spot with 11 fire fighting vehicles, only to learn that 20 more fire fighting vehicles were required to douse the fire.

As the fire officials started to douse the fire with water and chemical foam, blasts in a few barrels containing chemicals took place. This caused injury to two volunteers including Firoz Shaikh and Ashish Mishra. Both were sent to Shardaben Hospital for treatment.

CINCINNATI - A University of Cincinnati student is in the hospital Wednesday morning after a toxic chemical explosion on campus overnight.

Police say a female student was working with a toxic chemical alone at the engineering building located at 2901 Woodside Place around 1 a.m. when a reaction caused an explosion. The student was working on a process known as aluminum etching when the reaction caused an explosion and sprayed very dangerous chemicals all over the lab and on the student.

Officials say the student wore protective gear at the time of the explosion, but the gear was still covered in the chemical. When she tried to take the protective wear off, some of chemical got on her arms and caused them to burn.

Emergency crews transported the student to the hospital where she was treated, but is being kept for observation because the chemical is slow reacting.