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.

DALLAS TWP. — The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a second release of drilling mud from natural gas pipeline installation.

The spill occurred at Lower Demunds Road and Goodleigh Road.

Chief Gathering LLC, recently bought out by PVR Partners, hired contractors to install a pipeline to connect natural gas wells in Susquehanna County to the Transco interstate pipeline in Dallas Township.

Chief’s Vice President of Industry Affairs Kristi Gittins said the mud release is not new. She said release of mud at pipeline boring sites are not uncommon and “we plan for them and we deal with them.”

DEP has been to the site and approved remediation plans, Gittins said.

The first spill, of approximately 200 gallons of water containing a small amount of bentonite clay, occurred on May 2 as contractors were boring about 30 feet beneath Leonards Creek on Kunkle-Alderson Road.

State and federal health officials are investigating how a rare and virulent bacteria strain appears to have killed a young researcher at a VA hospital's infectious diseases lab in San Francisco, setting off alarms that the man's friends and fellow researchers may have also been exposed.
The 25-year-old laboratory researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday morning shortly after asking friends to take him to the hospital. For the week and months before his death, he had been handling a bacteria linked to deadly bloodstream infections at the VA hospital's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, said Peter Melton, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The man, whose name has not been released, was working with fellow researchers to develop a vaccine for a bacterial strain that causes septicemia and meningitis. Hours after he left work, however, the germ that he was studying took his own life.
"He left the lab around 5 p.m." Friday, said Harry Lampiris, chief of the VA hospital's infectious diseases division. "He had no symptoms at all."
Two hours later, however, the Treasure Island resident reported to his girlfriend he was feeling sick with a headache, fever and chills, Lampiris said. Not until Saturday morning did the symptoms grow worse with a body rash. He asked friends to take him to the hospital but fell unconscious in the car and had no
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The crew members of a container vessel had anxious moments following fire in a portion of the vessel, which was in the deep sea about 50 nautical miles away from the Mangalore coast. In a release, the Coast Guard said the situation was under control and the ship's crew members had been able to partially extinguish the fire.

The Coast Guard said its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received distress message from m.v. CAP Norte around 10 a.m. about fire in the vessel's cargo containers that contained 15 tonnes of polyamide sulphide chemical.

The Coast Guard's fast patrol vessel ICGS Savithri Phule was sent from the Mangalore coast and it reached the place around 1 p.m.

A hazmat fire was reported at Hair Systems Inc., a multinational distributor of hair products whose warehouse is located at 30 Park Ave. in Englishtown, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Friday, an Englishtown Police Department dispatcher confirmed.
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The fire began in back of the warehouse in a section of the building called a "powder room" where some type of manufacturing or packaging was located, according to Hall. The building is mostly used for storage, little  distribution is done at the warehouse, but chemical research is done at the facility, Hall said. A vat containing an oxidizing chemical ignited in the powder room, and the fire was mostly contained to the vat.

The fireman moved the vat out of the "powder room" and used copious amounts of water to douse the flames which sparked a fire due to a chemical reaction, which Hall said was the only treatment to combat such a type of fire.

Heavy smoke conditions were observed and a decontamination trailer, supplied by Manalapan Township Fire Company #1, was activated for the fireman who directly combatted the hazmat fire.

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.

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."

Quick action by firefighters and efficient response by local utilities likely prevented a more serious outcome during an incident Friday morning at Johns Manville in Richmond.

Richmond Fire Department Chief Mike Crawley said a fire was caused when an elbow joint on a hopper came loose, spilling molten glass inside the facility at 814 Richmond Ave.

Crawley said the temperature of the glass can reach in excess of 2,100 degrees, and RFD Battalion Chief Bob O'Neil said Friday afternoon that there were several tense moments Friday morning as the glass spread throughout the building and threatened to destroy the structure.

"You can't walk into the building now it is so hot," O'Neil said just before 5 p.m. Friday.

"At one time, I thought we were going to lose the building. We had two ladder crews putting cold water on the molten glass and we had more lines running into the building to cool the glass, but the smoke was getting worse and I was worried we were going to lose it."

HICKORY, N.C. --
A plastic bottle filled with a chemical exploded in a dorm bathroom Tuesday night at Lenoir-Rhyne University in what was likely a prank that went too far.

Lenoir-Rhyne University’s security received a call at about 8:20 p.m. from one of Morgan Hall’s resident advisors. The caller said someone threw a 2-liter drink bottle with a chemical substance through an open window of a bathroom on the second floor of the building, according to a report filed by security officer Kevin Ripley.

When Hickory police began investigating, it became apparent the bottle was placed in the bathroom by one of the people involved in the incident, said Thurman Whisnant with the Hickory Police Department.

“It would not have been possible for it to have been thrown in,” Whisnant said.

Student Maggie Brown was in Morgan Hall when the bottle exploded in the empty bathroom.

“I was walking up the stairs, and it sounded like a boom,” she said. “It sounded like an explosive.”

Ripley told the advisor to clear the hallway of students until he arrived and could examine the bathroom. When Ripley opened the bathroom door he was overwhelmed.

ORTSMOUTH — An employee of the Redhook Brewery was fatally wounded Tuesday when a pressurized beer keg exploded at the company's facility in Portsmouth.

The man was rushed to Portsmouth Regional Hospital by ambulance after he was struck in the head and chest by pieces of the keg, according to Assistant Portsmouth Fire Chief Steve Achilles.

Redhook employees found the worker unresponsive in the loading dock area at approximately 7:06 a.m., a short time after the explosion.

Achilles said the worker, who is believed to be in his 20s or early 30s, had been filling kegs with air as part of a cleaning process that removes residual beer from the kegs. He said firefighters responded within three minutes after receiving a 911 call from the employees.

Every day, 12 workers die on the job across America. As the nation's secretary of labor, I am surrounded by numbers about jobs, the labor market and about the economy more broadly. But the number 12 stays with me. It is a haunting reminder of the hard-working Americans we lose every day, often in the prime of their life, filled with the energy that we need to build a better world.

Sheri Sangji was one of these Americans, so full of promise. She was a 23-year-old research assistant in a lab at the University of California at Los Angeles, looking forward to a career that would allow her to pursue her interests in chemistry, law and the rights of women and immigrants. One day, while performing an experiment with highly reactive chemicals, a flash fire ignited her clothes and skin, causing fatal burns. Sheri had not been properly trained in the handling of the chemical that set off the blaze. I later met her family, a loving and tight-knit group of people. The weight of their loss was nearly unbearable. I think about them every day.

To remember Sheri Sangji and all others who die on the job across our country, we observe Workers Memorial Day every April 28. Today, we remember families who have lost a loved one because of workplace injuries, and we pledge to continue fighting tirelessly to make sure that no worker trades a life for a livelihood.

The Chattanooga Fire Department was called to 38th Street and St. Elmo Avenue at Chattem Chemical to an overturned truck at 12:40 p.m.  Saturday. Upon arrival the Chattem Safety team members advised that the truck contained 5,000 gallons of Monochloroacetic acid, which is used to produce Glycine, a common food additive to human and pet foods.

The truck was apparently making a delivery and, while backing into the loading area, the truck jack-knifed and the Intermodal container slowly rolled over.

These-type containers are protected by an outer steel framework to safe-guard the contents.
The Chattanooga Fire Department Hazardous Materials team made entry to check for leaks. There was a small amount of the product that was leaking about a drop every 15-20 seconds from the upper manhole access. The storm drains were sealed to prevent possible contamination, and, as a result, none of the product made it to the drains.

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.

NORTON - A portion of North Worcester Street was closed for about 3 1/2 hours today after water department employees discovered an old abandoned gas line leaking fluid containing a low-level of PCBs, officials said.

Water department workers tried to contained the fluid in a pail and contacted fire officials immediately after the incident around 11:30 a.m.

Less than five gallons of fluid leaked from the line, Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection said.

“We’re talking about low levels and subsurface, at this point,” Ferson said when asked about the potential dangers.

HOHHOT - Fire fighters on Sunday morning put out the blaze in a chemical plant in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, which has caused one dead and three others injured.
The accident happened around 5 pm Saturday at Inner Mongolia 3F Fluorochemical Co Ltd. in the city of Fengzhen. A huge amount of flammable gas has been leaked after the chemical plant caught fire and exploded.
Some tanks containing VDF gas, a flammable and narcotic gas, on the ground floor of the plant's high-rise workshop caught fire. Fire fighters rescued three injured workers trapped in the flames, and evacuated other workers out of the building.

GEISMAR, LA (WAFB) -
Hazardous materials teams from the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Department and Louisiana State Police are monitoring a potential situation at Trimac Transportation on Highway 30 in Geismar.

Chief Deputy Tony Bacala with the Ascension Sheriff's Office says the hazmat crews have been staged on the trucking service property since Wednesday. Bacala says a tanker truck carrying acrylic acid is registering "too hot." If the acid gets to a certain high temperature, there is potential for an explosion.

Trimac spokesman Neil Voorhees says crews are waiting for the acrylic acid to stabilize, at which time they will introduce an inhibitor. Voorhees says some equipment and a limited number employees are still working at the facility.  

Bacala also says there is no immediate danger, and that he does not anticipate a problem. He says the hazmat crews are there as a precaution, and will likely be there for another 24 hours

Residents at about 30 homes in the Newcastle suburb of Carrington were forced to stay indoors on Saturday night (AEST) after a gas leak at Graincorp.

The New South Wales Fire and Rescue Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) unit was called to the Graincorp Carrington terminal just before 7pm (AEST)

About 100 kilograms of the gas methyl bromide leaked from a canister, while staff were fumigating at the site.

A Graincorp spokesman says while the gas is commonly used to kill pests and bugs, a leak of this kind is uncommon.

PHILLIPSBURG – The Police Department and Fire Department responded to Riverside Way for a report of a white substance, later identified as aluminum trihydrate, that spilled on the roadway around noon on Wednesday, April 4, police said.
According to police, the county Hazmat team also responded and determined that it was a non-hazardous substance. The material had spilled from a truck from Sunswept Transport of Bel-Air, Maryland, police said.
According to police, the substance had been delivered to Gulbrandsen and residual substance had spilled on the ground. The residual substance was removed by personnel from Gulbrandsen under the direction of the Warren County Health Department.

EL RENO, Oklahoma - An accident at the Weatherford International Yard near El Reno, where oil field equipment is made, critically injured a worker Tuesday night.
Crews responded to the call just after 9 p.m. at the company located at 901 Jensen Road near El Reno. It originally was thought to be an explosion, but the Canadian County Sheriff's Office now says there was no blast.

GONZALES — Workers removed the last remaining chemicals Sunday from a damaged production unit that exploded and caught fire last week at Westlake Chemical Corp. in Ascension Parish, state environmental regulators said Monday.

Meanwhile, the first lawsuit has been filed alleging residents who live in communities near the plant were harmed by chemicals released during the fire.

The emergency at the 184-acre Geismar Vinyls Complex ended Sunday after a leaning production tower was stabilized by a crane that arrived Saturday and chemicals were removed the next day, a Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality official said.

GEISMAR, La. - An explosion and fire at a chemical plant in southeastern Louisiana caused the release of hazardous vinyl chloride into the air, authorities said.

No one was injured in Thursday's accident at the Westlake Vinyls plant in the Geismar community, an area that plays host to a large number of chemical plants that dot the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

State police spokesman Russell Graham said it wasn't clear how much of the chemical was released, but a small cloud was hovering over the plant. A handful of residents living in the heavily industrial area were advised to stay indoors, keep doors and windows closed and turn off air conditioning units. Other plants in the area were advised to do likewise.

A woman burned by the leaked chemical tells 13News that the driver of the semi noticed it spilling and asked for cat litter to be tossed on top.

When that happened, the chemical started "boiling."

"I've never seen anything fizz like that," said Kasandra Beckett. She had burns to her fingers that she was treated and released for.

Nearby homeowners were asked to leave but there was no forced evacuation in place.

As to why something like this would happen, Ripley Fire Chief David Brubaker had only the theory of the truck driver.

"One of the straps must have come loose," said Brubaker. "That's why it was leaking out of the back.

Lasting injuries could include breathing issues.

UPDATE

A tractor-trailer carrying the chemical Barchlor started leaking late this morning, according to officials in Jackson County. The chemical is not harmful unless it comes into contact with skin, or if it's inhaled in vapor form. The leaking chemical is in liquid form.

No shelter-in-place has been issued because of the leak, officials said. Six people were contaminated, but they have been treated.

A crew of a nearby chemical plant is on the way to the scene to assess the situation and advise how it should be handled.

A former graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin is enmeshed in a US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inquiry after he was stopped for a traffic offence and found to have lab chemicals and equipment in his car.

Karl Jasheway was pulled over by Travis County police near Austin in December 2011 and charged with driving while intoxicated. The FBI's interest in Jasheway only emerged on 9 March as a result of a public-information request filed by Austin-based biosafety advocate Ed Hammond.

At the time of the incident, Jasheway was studying for a PhD in the laboratory of biologist Jon Robertus, known for his pioneering work on the structure of transfer RNA. Jasheway’s research was part of the lab's federally funded work to develop an antidote for ricin, a highly toxic protein found in the castor oil plant Ricinus communis and a potential bioterror agent. Jasheway's work involved using a non-toxic component of the protein called the ricin A chain.

A student’s experiment caused fumes from hazardous chemicals to leak into the air in Sisler Hall on Thursday night.
The student, who did not want to identify himself, was conducting an experiment alone on the third floor of the building when fumes started to rise from a 6-inch flask, said Gainesville Fire Rescue Lt. Gary Law.
Although GFR called the incident a chemical spill, only fumes leaked from the beaker. Sisler Hall was kept open while GFR inspected the lab where the incident happened.
The student told firefighters he was not hurt, but GFR insisted he go to the hospital as a precautionary measure for fear of inhalation hazards, said GFR Lt. Steve Mueller.
The student was working with a 100 mL mixture of carbon tetrachloride, hexane, triphenylphosphine and water.
The experiment was conducted on a countertop under a hood, which prevented the fumes from being released into surrounding air.
Law said if it had not been for the hood, the situation could have been a lot worse.
This was at least the third incident involving hazardous chemical reactions in Sisler Hall throughout the past year. The first occurred Oct. 11 when a student’s vial exploded as he transferred it to a scale. The second was on Jan. 11 when a student’s chemical mixture exploded under a protective hood.
GFR would not comment as to why chemical-related accidents keep happening in Sisler Hall.
“But it’s something that should be asked,” Mueller said.

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Stolt Valor is a chemical tanker carrying approximately 13,000 metric tons of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which is used to increase oxygen content in gasoline throughout the U.S., to reduce carbon monoxide and ozone levels caused by auto emissions. MTBE is considered soluble, but not biodegradable.

Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Battle Watch Officer reported the incident to the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center (MEMAC), which dispatched tugs with fire fighting capability to the scene.

U.S. 5th Fleet's Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) contacted Stolt-Nielsen Limited to establish a line of communication between the military and the shipping company's crisis response team. The environmental impact is unknown at this time.

Stolt Nielsen issued a statement saying:

"Stolt Tankers B.V., a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen Limited and operators and owners of MT Stolt Valor, confirm that the vessel suffered an explosion on board whilst transiting the Persian Gulf.

"A Coalition warship is presently on site and is providing assistance. We understand that 24 of the 25 crewmembers are safe and on board the Coalition vessel. One crewmember is currently missing. Families of all the crew are being contacted as a matter of urgency.

"Stolt is working in close cooperation with the authorities on site in order to establish the whereabouts of our missing seafarer and the condition of the vessel."

Kissimmee Fire Department Hazmat Team, in partnership with St. Cloud Fire Rescue, determined the "rotten egg" smell at the CFE Credit Union in St. Cloud to be negative after air samples were taken.
The building, located at 3335 13th Street, was evacuated today after employees noticed the odor in the bank's vault around 8:20 a.m., St. Cloud Fire Rescue Chief Bill Johnston said.
Several employees were sickened by the stench and two employee was transported to St. Cloud Regional Medical Center for treatment, police Sgt. Denise Roberts said in a press release.

KYSERIKE — You’ve heard of three-alarm vindaloo chicken?
A package containing some “very potent” Indian spices caused alarms to go off at the Rondout middle and high schools when the driver of a FedEx delivery truck had a reaction to a broken package containing the spices while making a delivery at the campus Monday morning.
Both schools kept students from going outside while a county hazmat team, emergency responders and firefighters assessed the situation. The incident was reported at about 10:15 a.m.; the all-clear signal was given about two hours later, according to Undersheriff Frank Faluotico.
The fumes from the package apparently triggered what Faluotico called a “medical condition” in the driver. She was treated at the scene, he said.
Faluotico said that, if nothing else, the incident provided a good opportunity for emergency training.

Firefighters wearing protective clothing have dealt with a hazardous chemical spill at Llandudno Hospital.

The alarm was raised after peracetic acid, a chemical cleaning fluid used for sterilising, was spilled during routine maintenance, said North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Two crews from Llandudno and a specialist environmental protection unit from Wrexham attended the scene.

The incident resulted in the early closure of the out-patients department.

Fire crews also used breathing apparatus to tackle the spill on Wednesday evening, and disposed of the substance.

At least 13 people have been killed and 43 injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in northern China.

Officials and state media said the blast flattened a workshop at the Hebei Zhaoxian Kerr Chemical Company on the outskirts of the Hebei provincial capital of Shijiazhuang and shattered windows in surrounding villages.

The state Work Safety Administration said on its website that the explosion happened during the production of a high-energy fuel and propellant, guanidine nitrate.

MAULDIN, SC (FOX Carolina) -
A blue-colored glue spilled out of a tractor trailer Monday night, affecting traffic on a popular Mauldin road.

Mauldin Fire Chief Russell Sapp said a police officer noticed the liquid coming from the back of the truck, which was traveling on Main Street, and pulled it over in a parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Butler Road. He said that was when the driver discovered a 55 gallon drum of a substance called Adhesin had been knocked over.

Sapp said part of the parking lot of the shopping center and a lane of Butler Road were closed until a crew could clean up the spill. He said the chemical is not hazardous, but it will take several hours to clean up.

Drivers who may have driven through the chemical can call the Mauldin Fire Department on Tuesday for instructions on how to clean it off their car, Sapp said.

call about a break-in at the old Rondinelli Tuxedo on McGuffey Road in Youngstown resulted in a chemical clean-up.

According to officials, a neighbor told police they saw someone breaking into the building at about 11 a.m.

Youngstown fire Capt. Fred DeLuca said when officials went inside, they smelled a strong odor. Firefighters trained to deal with chemical spills were called in and found a gallon of chemicals used for dry cleaning had spilled on the floor, likely knocked over in the break-in.

Firefighters used an oil absorbent sand to soak up the mess.

EL PASO, Texas — A fire on Friday morning started in the kitchen of the Luby's Cafeteria on Hawkins long after workers had cleaned up and gone home.

Several fire crews responded to the fire at 4:20 a.m. and found that a pile of rags with some type of chemical had combusted and sparked the fire.

The manager said he is thankful it wasn't significant enough to close the restaurant down for the day. Even though it was a small fire, the restaurant needed to get approval from the health department to open on Friday.

POLICE and fire crews have reopened West Vancouver’s Marine Drive following the clean up of a chemical spill that closed parts of the thoroughfare for several hours Thursday.

The mishap took place shortly after 9 a.m. when a 45-gallon drum filled with a component of insulating foam tipped over inside a cube van as the vehicle headed up 31st Street.

Police cordoned off the area, and a special hazmat team from the City of North Vancouver fire department was called in to help with the clean up. The chemical was soaked up with sand, which was then removed with a municipal street sweeper, said West Vancouver assistant Fire Chief Martin Ernst.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — There was a massive Hazmat spill on I-95 and 895 in northeast Baltimore. Right now, both of those roadways are completely shut down. Kai Jackson has more.

A Hazmat crew, Baltimore City police, the Department of the Environment, MdTA officials and Baltimore City firefighters are on the scene for an overturned tanker truck that spilled an unknown amount of non-toxic ink, later identified as printer ink. It happened at the Fort McHenry toll plaza around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Even though the ink is water-based, it’s still considered a Hazmat situation.

DOVER —
An employee of Dover Chemical Corp. was taken to Union Hospital on Wednesday after suffering chemical burns in a mishap inside the plant at 3676 Davis Road.

According to Melissa Clark-Dross, Dover Chemical’s environmental health and safety manager, the man was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure and had returned to work his regular shift Wednesday afternoon.
...
Mossor said three chemicals used for the production of Chlorez spilled on the man who was working on a piece of pipe over his head, and had loosened it. The raw chemicals chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and paraffin came out of the pipe and spilled down his front.

When firefighters arrived, other employees had the man in a shower, where he was being decontaminated.

WEST POINT – Fire fighters from West Point made quick work of a fire that broke out on a rooftop cupola on the new USMA chemistry lab building on Cullum Road. 

Around noontime, an electric belt and motor located in a cupola caught the roof on fire.

The flames were extinguished with a dry chemical fire extinguisher and there was no evidence of structural damage to the building, a West Point spokeswoman said.

TOWN OF MEDARY, Wis. -- A couch cushion cleaned with linseed oil appears to have caused a house fire in the Town of Medary.

The Vance family made it out of their home on Smith Valley Road safely early Sunday morning, thanks to the help of cab driver Colin Winchell, who saw the fire as he was driving by and woke the family up.

Onalaska Fire Chief Don Dominick tells News 8 the family had cleaned the couch cushion used by the family pets with linseed oil, which has a tendency to combust due to its chemical makeup.

The cushion was placed outside the home to air out, and later ignited, causing the fire that damaged the home.

TROY — A nine-story building at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that houses classrooms, 90 laboratories and numerous offices has been shut down because of a chemical spill on Monday night.

The Troy Fire Department was called to the George M. Low Center for Industrial Innovation around 5:30 p.m., said Troy Fire Chief Tom Garrett.

Four students had been in the lab, but were not injured. The students declined medical treatment, Garrett said.

The building was evacuated and firefighters dressed in full haz-mat suits entered the lab and cleaned up the spill, partially filling a 5-gallon drum with the liquid material. Garrett said the fire department was still trying to identify the liquid and referred questions about the chemical to RPI officials.

RPI spokesman Mark Marchand said it was acetylene tetrabromide, a solvent, that was inside a machine. Marchand said a small amount of the chemical leaked out of the machine because of a faulty valve.

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the chemical that can cause eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation and nausea, severe headaches and abdominal pain.

The Fire Department left the scene around 9:30 p.m., but Marchand said the building will remain closed until the air quality is checked. A private company is expected to perform a full clean-up of the spill on Tuesday.

"The building will remain closed until we determine that the odor is gone and the chemical is cleaned up," Marchand said.

Last night local and state authorities found a Sodium Sulfite leak in one of the train cars near Benton and Viking Drive in Bossier City.
Crews were dispatched to the area Wednesday night after receiving a call about the odor from the rail car.
According to Louisiana State Police the leak was only in one car and has been contained.
There was no need for evacuation. Yesterday, a Hazmat team, Benton Firefighters, and Union Pacific Train crews checked for the leak.

Update: Wrentham Fire Chief Jay McMorrow said the incident this morning involved an amount of sodium acetate and water spilling into an outlet at one of the school's labs.

According to McMorrow, the outlet began to spark and smoke, prompting the department's response. He said the smoke, more than the chemical, was the issue here, and that there were no injuries.

McMorrow said he believed the lab would be closed until an electrician works on the outlet.

Original: The Wrentham Fire Department responded to the King Philip High School this morning for a reported chemical spill.

According to the Sun Chronicle, firefighters were sent out at 8:20am and remained at the school for half an hour. No injuries were reported.

According to reports, the spilled chemical was sodium acetate.

Crews tearing down a tower at the former BASF Corp. chemical plant in Belvidere ruptured a pipe containing liquid vinyl acetate, prompting a roughly 45-minute cleanup assisted by the Warren County Hazardous Materials Team.

Team leader Tom Nigro confirmed this afternoon that an old pipeline was damaged during demolition and began to leak the chemical into the soil. Nigro said the leak was small and easily contained, but neighbors complained of the odor, which he said resembled that of Super Glue.

Nigro said the hazmat team was needed to bring the leak under immediate control.

We know the cause of a fire in Vernon Center that destroyed most of a one story home.

The fire began on the back porch after rags used for staining spontaneously ignited in a trash can, according to Vernon Center Fire Chief Landon Davis.

The fire then moved through the home and into the attic.

Fire Chief says the structure is still standing but the roof is almost completely gone.

LOCAL firefighters are begging residents to leave drums found along the beach well alone after a hazardous materials scare at Mullawarra Beach this week.

Woolgoolga firefighters, Hazmat crews from Coffs Harbour and paramedics were called to Arrawarra Beach R about 7.10pm Monday after reports of a suspicious drum in the car park at the beach.

"It turned out to be a drum that had gone overboard from a ship a very long time ago," station commander Ray Webb said.

The 25 litre drum, property of the Wilhelmsen Ship Service in the Netherlands, was filled with the chemical Rocor NB Liquid - a nitrate/borate based compound used as a cooling inhibitor on ships.

"It is toxic is swallowed and can cause severe irritations to the skin. It's also highly toxic to waterways," Mr Webb said.

DONEGAL TOWNSHIP, Pa -- A Freightliner tractor-trailer carrying a glue-type substance drove off Interstate 70 eastbound by mile marker 2 in Donegal Township Saturday afternoon.
The tanker spilled its liquid glue-like cargo into a drainage ditch and HAZMAT was called to the scene.
One lane is currently open as cleanup continues in the area.

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Three people were sent to Shannon Medical Center after a pressurized-air tank explosion in the 3800 block of Christoval Road.

San Angelo firefighters and EMS were notified about 8:25 a.m. Monday to a industrial accident, Captain Fred Barnett said Tuesday morning.

"They were pressure testing a tank that had been built and it broke loose and exploded," Barnett said. "Three people were injured and transported to the hospital."

Barnett described the tank as being six feet in diameter and about 20 feet tall.

It was unclear how close the three were to the tank. A firetruck responded, which is standard with a call about serious injuries, but there was no gasoline or chemical explosion.

CARTERET — Emergency workers are still trying to stop a leak today at a Carteret fuel refinery that has released 3,000 gallons of combustible liquid, authorities said.
All of the liquid spilling from a tank at the BP Products refinery, 76 Roosevelt Ave., was contained in a dyked area, Carteret Fire Chief Brian O'Connor said.
O'Brien said the product, reformate, which is used in blending fuel products, was first discovered leaking from a storage tank flange about 8 a.m. today. The tank holds 3 million gallons of the product, the chief said.
He said the liquid was being transferred another tank, and an environmental cleanup company was at the scene to remove the liquid that leaked from the flange.

Eight cars on a CSX train derailed in Grand Ridge before 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. No one was injured.

The train contained several chemical shipments, bringing the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Emergency Management, Grand Ridge Fire Department, Jackson County Fire Rescue, Marianna Fire Department, Sneads Fire Department and several other first responders to assess the scene.

As of noon on Saturday, the only chemical that spilled was PVC pellets. Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts said the pellets would be vacuumed up by environmental services.

BRIMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio - A crash that resulted in a Hazmat situation in Portage County had a portion of I-76 shut down for about nine hours.

The incident happened just after 11 p.m. Monday night in the westbound lanes of I-76 near State Route 43 in Brimfield Township.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said the driver of the tanker drove off the road, causing the truck to overturn in a ditch.

The truck, which was carrying about 36,400 gallons of diisobutylene, leaked a small amount of liquid and prompted hazmat teams to respond to the scene, the patrol said.

Twenty one people have been taken to hospital after a chemical spill at a warehouse.

The incident occurred at Palletways in Livingston, West Lothian, at around 8.15am on Tuesday.
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It I believed the casualties are complaining of breathlessness and similar problems since the spillage, although no one was seriously injured.

Part of MacIntosh Road has been cordoned off as the fire services begins to scale down its presence at the scene, after six appliances were sent out to deal with it.

The spillage inside the premises has been deemed safe by the fire service, while the one outside the building has been cordoned off. The chemical involved was understood to be denatonium benzoate, which is included in products such as shampoos and liquid soaps.