USA, INDIANA, ANDERSON, JANUARY 15 2005. PLANT FIRE BRINGS CALL TO EVACUATE - WATER CAN'T BE USED TO DOUSE BLAZE AT MAGNESIUM FACTORY.

A fire at Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. in Anderson was first reported about 4:30 p.m. Friday. About 8:30 p.m., the fire appeared to explode; flames burst into the air, and heavy smoke spewed over the area.

Thousands of Anderson residents were urged to leave their homes in bitter cold Friday when a fire at a magnesium recycling plant sent brilliant flames and huge clouds of smoke towering into the sky. Despite intense heat and potentially toxic fumes, no serious injuries were reported. Three plant employees were treated for breathing problems, Anderson fire officials said.

The local Mayor declared an emergency and ordered evacuations in a one-square-mile area around the Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. plant at 1820 E. 32nd St. State environmental officials were monitoring air around the plant to assess the hazard to nearby residents. Officials said the cold, breezy conditions Friday helped to reduce the potential danger.

Firefighters could do little but watch the blaze - visible from 10 to 15 miles away - as it burned out of control. Firefighters could not use water, which can cause magnesium to explode, to put out the fire. Anderson Fire Chief estimated the blaze could continue burning for three days. By 12:30a.m. today, the flames had died down considerably.

A spokesman for the Madison County Emergency Management Agency, said the fire was first reported at 4:30 p.m. Officials said 12 to 24 workers were in the plant at the time; all got out. Officials initially evacuated a six-block area surrounding the plant as a precaution. About 8:30 p.m., the fire appeared to explode; flames burst 300 feet into the air, and heavy smoke descended over the entire area. The spoksman for the County Emergency Management Agency said firefighters believe snow on the roof collapsed onto the fire, causing a huge flare-up. "I thought D-Day was here," said an Anderson resident, who saw the fire as he was driving toward Muncie.

City officials expanded the evacuation to take in an area bounded by Columbus Avenue on the west, Scatterfield Road on the east, 23rd Street on the north and 38th Street on the south. A police spokesman said 8,000 to 10,000 people may be affected. Officers went through Anderson neighborhoods with loudspeakers, urging residents to leave. One local resident didn't need to be told. "I knew it was time to leave when it started looking like a mushroom cloud," said the resident, who lives three blocks from the plant. Another local resident was working at a nearby supermarket when he and other employees heard "a big boom." "It looked like a big atomic blast," he said.

State Emergency Management Agency planner said Indiana Department of Environmental Management officials went to the scene to begin monitoring the air. "They want to make sure evacuations go far enough out," he said. The Agency Planner said the state fire marshal's office was measuring toxicity levels at several points around the plant. Magnesium is a silvery-white, highly flammable metal that, when ignited, releases irritating or toxic fumes. Magnesium fires are typically extinguished using dry sand.

The police spokesperson said the fire began with an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 pounds of magnesium in one section of the plant. "We're not sure yet on what the start of it was," he said. The factory, which Advanced Magnesium Alloys, or AMACOR, purchased in 2003, is in the sprawling former Delco Remy plant site north of I-69. The police spokesperson said that around 11 p.m., police arrested an apparently intoxicated man who attempted to enter the plant and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. The man's identity was not released.

A Salvation Army shelter was opened about 11/2miles from the plant. Residents also were being sent to Anderson High School. About 40 people had gathered at the Salvation Army shelter by midnight. A Major of the Salvation Army said evacuees may have to stay two to three days. A local couple who live about eight blocks from the plant, were among those at the Salvation Army shelter. They were worried about their two dogs and two cats but were willing to stay as long as authorities felt it necessary. "I don't know," The husband of the couple said. "We'll take what the Lord gives us.

About the Anderson Magnesium Plant

Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. (AMACOR) supplies magnesium alloys to the die-casting and the aluminum industries. It bills itself as the largest magnesium recycling facility in the world. The annual production capacity of the plant is approximately 30,000 metric tons.

Magnesium is a silver-white metal. Because of its light weight, it often is used in alloys for aircraft and automobile parts. Recycled magnesium represents a substantial source of the metal. Pure magnesium does not occur in nature, and much of the magnesium used in the United States is recovered from seawater. Because it burns with a brilliant white light, magnesium is used in fireworks and incendiary bombs. Other uses include tanning, dyeing and making cement, fertilizer and insulating materials.

Sources: AMACOR, World Book Encyclopedia, U.S. Geological Survey

USA, INDIANA, ANDERSON, JANUARY 15 2005. THOUSANDS EVACUATED NEAR INDIANA PLANT FIRE

Magnesium fires, like the one in Anderson, Indiana, are extremely difficult to extinguish

A magnesium fire at a recycling plant burned out of control Friday night, forcing the evacuation of several thousand people from their homes. Hundreds of firefighters rushed to the Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. plant after the fire erupted. Explosions inside forced firefighters out less than three hours later, although they continued working from outside the building, said a police spokesman. "The whole building is engulfed now," the police spokesman said. "It's a bright glow, it's burning pretty hard." There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Magnesium is a silvery-white, highly flammablemetal that, when ignited, releases irritating or toxic fumes. Magnesium fires are typically extinguished using dry sand since water can cause a flare-up or explosion.

Authorities evacuated about 5,000 people from an area about one mile wide and two miles long that fell in the path of the smoke and fumes; wind speeds were about 5 mph, the police spokesman said.

CNN, quoting an official with the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency, reported that state officials initially planned to evacuate 30,000 residents -- about half the city's population. "[People are] afraid the plant is gonna blow," said a local resident, who lives across the street and upwind from the plant. "We heard a couple of explosions that shook the house."

The police spokesman said the fire began with an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 pounds of magnesium in one section of the plant. "We're not sure yet on what the start of it was," he said. Twelve to 18 of the plant's approximately 70 workers were inside at the time, he said.

The factory is located in the sprawling former Delco Remy plant site. Anderson is about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

USA,ANDERSON INDIANA, WATER AIDED MAGNESIUM PLANT FIRE (SPRINKLERS SUSPECTED)

ANDERSON, Indiana (AP)
A magnesium recycling plant's sprinkler system helped turn a small fire in a scrap bin into a toxic inferno that forced thousands of people from their homes, fire investigators said.

Officials are trying to determine why the Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. plant had a working sprinkler system in the same area where the metal is stored. Water causes burning magnesium to flare up and explode. After magnesium in a scrap bin caught fire Friday evening, plant workers immediately tried to put it out with dry material, Anderson Deputy Fire Chief said. "Before they could put it out, the sprinkler went off," he said Saturday.

The water helped fuel the burning magnesium, which by Friday evening forced the evacuation of about 5,000 nearby residents because of hazardous fumes. Those residents were allowed to return home Saturday after the fire subsided.

Officials said the plant's sprinkler system was installed when the building was the General Motors Delphi Engine and Energy Facility. A spokeswoman for Anderson Mayor said fire officials told plant officials 18 months ago to cap the sprinklers. Capping the sprinkler would have been easier than removing it, which would have required a zoning variance, she said. No one answered the company's phone Sunday.

A police spokesman for the Anderson Police Department said fire investigators continued their work Sunday to assess the sprinkler system's role in the fire. They were also trying to determine how the fire began. He said the fire continued to smolder Sunday but was essentially out.

Officials were uncertain how much of the 300,000 pounds of magnesium stored in the plant for recycling burned in the fire. Anderson Deputy Fire Chief said that before officials do anything else, they will remove 800,000 pounds of already recycled magnesium slabs from the burned building.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was at the site to try to determine the fire's cause and origin, agent Mike Vergon said.Anderson is about 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

USA, ARIZONA, YUMA, JANUARY 19 2005. PROPANE TANK RUPTURES, INJURING FOUR PEOPLE

An eleven-year-old boy is in the burn unit at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix after a propane tank explosion in Yuma. Three other people were slightly injured in the mishap, which occurred yesterday at a vegetable processing plant in Yuma. The explosion engulfed a lunch truck in flames. All the victims were inside the truck. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the rupture.

USA, TX, FORT WORTH, JANUARY 18 2005. THREE-ALARM FIRE SPARKED AT FORT WORTH REFINERY DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT $800,000

A three-alarm fire in Fort Worth had the city's firefighters busy early Tuesday morning. A refinery building owned by the Texas Refinery Corp., went up in flames shortly after 5 a.m. The fire quickly escalated to three alarms as firefighters worked for nearly 3 hours extinguishing the blaze.

Initial damage estimates are set at $300,000 to the building and another $500,000 for the contents. A Lt. with the Fort Worth Fire Department told NBC 5 that the building was mostly used for storage of equipment and packaging materials. Firefighters said there were some chemicals in the building, industrial cleaning fluids and oil products, that posed a concern for firefighters.

Hazmat crews were called to the scene to assist with the chemicals. While the cause of the fire is unknown, investigators will begin pouring over the scene Tuesday in an attempt to determine what sparked the blaze. There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire and the fire did not spread to any neighboring businesses.

SOUTH AFRICA, DURBAN, JANUARY 18 2005. HUGE FIRE FOLLOWS BLAST AT OIL REFINERY

A huge fire at an oil refinery in Durban has led to the evacuation of residents in the area, SABC radio news reported on Tuesday night.

Metro rescue services said a tank at the refinery exploded during maintenance work, causing panic among nearby residents of Wentworth. Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control and officials said there was no danger of the fire spreading to other tanks. No one was injured in what a refinery official described as an industrial accident. Residents were slowly making their way back to their homes, SABC reported.

SOUTH AFRICA, DURBAN, JANUARY 19 2005. BLAST AT OIL REFINERY LIGHTS UP THE SKY

An explosion rocked houses in Merebank on Tuesday night when a fire broke out in a solvents tank at the Engen oil refinery in Durban.

A local resident, who lives near the refinery, said the explosion had shaken his house. "The sirens sounded twice, which meant there was something serious. If they had sounded one more time, it would have meant an evacuation," he said. The resident said he could see bright flames and thick smoke from where he stood in Merebank. "The explosion rattled doors and windows and this large orange flame leapt into the sky," he said. Another local resident, of Buldana Road, said she, too, could see the flames from her home. "There is a great fear that it could spread from one tank to another," she said. Yet another local resident, of Tezpur Place, said: "Here I am, stuck with my family. I can see the fire and the smoke, but I am uncertain whether I should leave or remain here."

Engen Communications Co-ordinator said no casualties had been reported. The fire had occurred at one of the solvents tanks at about 8.45pm and had been extinguished an hour and 10 minutes later. "The cause of the fire is being investigated," the co-ordinatory said. Emergency procedures were activated immediately. "There were no injuries during the incident. The fire did not affect refinery operations and the refinery is running well and all units are on line. Relevant authorities have been informed."

The Production Manager said the fire had not posed a threat to the community at any time. "We would like to thank theThekwini Fire Response team who were on standby during the incident in case we needed any assistance," he said. The Production Manager added that Engen wanted to apologise to the community for any inconvenience caused.

SOUTH AFRICA, DURBAN, JANUARY 19 2005. ENVIRO GROUP CALL FOR PETROCHEMICAL PROBE

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance has called on the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry into the country's petrochemical industry. This follows Tuesday night's fire at the Engen refinery in Wentworth in southern Durban.

The Alliance's spokesperson said this was the second incident of its kind in the past month after 6 000 litres of marine oil spilled into a canal in the area on December 31. According to Engen, Tuesday's blaze started in one of its tanks containing a cleaning solvent and caused an explosion, the alliance's spokesperson said: "All we heard was a loud explosion and then saw a huge ball of fire." He said although an alarm did go off, the community had no idea what to do "because alarms go off all the time and they all sound the same". He said it was"shocking" that terrified community members were told what was happening two hours after the explosion. "This highlights the fact that there is no disaster management plan in place."

The Alliance's spokesperson said although it seemed as if the air had cleared, the impact on health would be felt for many years. "Engen said it was a solvent, but we've been told there was benzene involved, which means cancer," he said. The alliance's spokesperson said research done by several parties including the Nelson Mandela Medical School proved that the number of leukaemia cases was 20 times higher in the South Durban basin than in any other place in the world. There are two refineries in the area belonging to Sapref and Engen.

Meanwhile, the department of environmental affairs said on Wednesday it was waiting for an incident report from Engen before considering what steps should be taken. "The department is quite concerned about the increased number of such incidents," said a departmental spokesperson. He said the department would not hesitate to take decisive action once the report had been read and they had completed their own investigation into the fire.

Engen production manager said the surrounding community was not exposed to any ill health effects.

USA, N.D, MINOT, JANUARY 17 2005. NO INJURIES REPORTED IN OIL FIRE IN NORTH DAKOTA

Firefighters said an oil company fire burned itself out after igniting fuel and setting off explosions on the edge of the city in a scene that brought back memories of a deadly derailment in January three years ago. "Earlier this morning - probably around 5:30-6 - we had quite a few major explosions and shooting fireballs in the air," a Minot Fire Department spokesman said. "Once they had the first explosion, everybody backed away. At that point, there was no sense in getting anybody hurt."

The Fire Department spokesman said the fire at Farstad Oil Inc. had burned itself out by noon, and officials with Earthmovers Inc., a hazardous material company, came in to smother the area with sand. "It pretty much burned itself out. The only thing we used the sand for was to cover up all the hot spots," he said. The fire did not spread to larger fuel tanks or to the city. No injuries were reported.

The president and chief executive of the company, did not immediately return a telephone call Monday seeking comment. The Farstad Oil Web site says the company is a wholesale distributor of petroleum products, serving customers in North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and Wyoming. The subsidiary of SPF Energy was founded in 1938.

The state's environmental health chief, said two Health Department officials were on the scene Monday to monitor the situation and prepare for cleanup. He said there were no immediate health threats. Firefighters from Minot and surrounding areas had spent the night battling the blaze in temperatures that dropped to more than 25 degrees below zero.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. "We've pretty much got it contained," The Fire Department spokesman said at mid-afternoon Monday. "There's one little spot that is still burning, but it's just a couple of feet. We're just covering up everything with sand." It brought back memories of Jan. 18, 2002, when a train carrying anhydrous ammonia derailed on the edge of Minot, sending a cloud of deadly gas over the city. In that incident, one person died and hundreds were injured. It also led authorities to make changes to improve their notification system in disasters. This time, officials were pleased that the outcome was different. "Here, we knew that we had a fire, and you can deal with a fire because it's contained in one area," the Fire Department spokesman said. "One of the things we felt we needed was more coordination. We've trained pretty heavily on it, especially after the anhydrous spill."

USA, TEX, HOUSTON, JANUARY 19 2005. IN HARM'S WAY - UNSEEN DANGERS - THE SUM OF INVISIBLE LEAKS - CALLED 'FUGITIVE EMISSIONS' - CAN BE MORE HAZARDOUS TO COMMUNITIES THAN OTHER SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION

Environmental Inc., checks to see whether a valve at Shell Chemical in Deer Park is leaking. The valve is one of 250,000 parts that federal and state law requires Shell to check for leaks, which are large sources of air toxics from chemical plants and refineries.

On a breezy day, Shell's 600-acre chemical plant in Deer Park turns into a giant wind chime. Hundreds of thousands of metal tags, each etched with chemical names like benzene and ethylene, dangle from nearly every pump, joint and valve, creating a metallic orchestra amid the miles-long maze of pipes. "There are so many of these and they are so close together, even the slightest breeze can cause them to move," said an environmental specialist at the facility. "In some units, the tags are so dense the noise is noticeable." Their sound belies a sober purpose. Each tag marks a place where toxic air pollution can escape.

Across Texas, these so-called fugitive emissions account for a sizable portion of the toxic air pollution released by industry each year, some of which ends up in surrounding communities. The tangle of tanks, stacks, pipes and cooling towers that make up a chemical plant have thousands of places which can leak air toxics.

Companies must check each potential leak point at least four times a year for most chemicals. Fugitives no doubt contributed to the elevated levels of air toxics detected by the Houston Chronicle at residences along the fence lines of some plants in Houston, Baytown, Freeport and Port Neches last summer. For nearby communities, these seemingly modest sources of pollution can be more dangerous than what comes out of an industrial plant's sky-grazing stacks, since many of the leaky parts are close to the ground, where wind speeds are lower and the chemicals don't easily disperse.

Toxics "hang around when they are released at a lower level," said the director of the Institute for Multi-dimensional Air Quality Studies at the University of Houston, which is modeling air emissions in the Houston area.His research, thus far, suggests that leaks of toxic pollution are underestimated. "Fugitives are not being counted properly," he said.

State and federal investigations over the past five years also suggest that the proportion of air toxics attributed to leaks is likely greater than reported, since numerous facilities have been caught low-balling the number of "leakers" at their facilities and the amount of pollution they emit. Besides the accounting problems, current regulations also allow some leaks to continue for years.

'There have to be leaks'

One thing is certain: no chemical plant or refinery in Texas is airtight. "There have to be leaks. If you came back with no leaks, they would say, 'Hey, what's going on?' " said a worker who has worked for four years as a site supervisor for ARI Environmental Inc., the contractor hired to monitor most of the 250,000 tagged components at Shell Chemical whose design or age gives them pollution-releasing potential.

Baeza's 14 technicians spend 40 hours a week - divided into four 10-hour days - walking along the chemical plant's pipes and measuring for leaks. Some are so tiny that a permanent marker would give off more emissions. Others leak so much that the concentration of the chemicals in the surrounding vapor is four times over state and federal limits. Taken together, their impact can be dramatic. In 2002, according to the federal Toxics Release Inventory, leaks made up 33.3 percent of the more than 52 million pounds of air toxics companies reported they released in Texas. The remainder came from more obvious sources, including stacks and vents.

In Harris County, which in 2002 reported 11.4 million pounds of toxic air pollution - the most in the state - industry estimated that fugitive emissions accounted for 42 percent of the total. Not all fugitive emissions are of one of the 188 air toxics, known to cause cancer and other health problems. However, leaks account for more than 15 million pounds of other types of air pollution in Texas, according to 2002 data. "These are huge facilities with very complicated plumbing, basically," said a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which wrote many of the rules governing how leaks are detected and how fast they must be repaired.

Of the 25 to 30 environmental regulations governing refineries and chemical plants, six focus specifically on leaks. Many of those rules came into being in 1990, when Congress updated the Clean Air Act and identified the 188 hazardous air pollutants. Those rules were designed to reduce fugitive pollution by 63 percent, if followed correctly. Yet despite the regulations, the millions of dollars companies spend monitoring each year and recent advances in leakdetection technology - including an infrared camera that can actually photograph emissions coming off a pipe - a series of investigations suggests that many leaks are being overlooked.

In June 2003, independent investigators working for the Houston Advanced Research Center checked six chemical plants in the Houston area. All had components that were not tagged or being checked for leaks. If they had been, the amount of pollution reported to the state would have been slightly higher.

In June 2002, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality began unannounced inspections of 53 cooling towers, which lower the temperature of chemicals by transferring heat to water. At five of the nine industrial facilities checked, the steam coming out of the cooling towers was laced with chemical pollution, a sign of a leak. If these emissions were reported, the official quantity of pollution reported by the plants would have gone up fivefold.

In 1999, the EPA's National Enforcement Investigation Center inspected leak-detection and repair programs at 17 oil refineries nationwide, including one in Texas City. It found four times as many leaks as the refineries reported, resulting in 80 million pounds of unreported pollution.

The 1,062 facilities in Texas that reported releasing air toxics in 2002 emitted a total of 124 million pounds. The reasons cited for the missed leaks included monitors not spending enough time checking the component to get an accurate measurement and the difficulty of double-checking the complex calculations used to determine how much pollution is coming from a leaking part. ompanies contend they are abiding by calculations and methods set by the EPA. "There are emissions problems with flares, fugitives and cooling towers," said the executive director of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention, which released a report in October 2003 on the TCEQ's cooling tower investigation. But, the executive directory said, leaks alone can't explain the huge gap that researchers have found between the concentration of chemicals in the air over Houston and the emissionsestimates reported by the companies.

Scientists say the concentration suggests that actual emissions are five times greater than what is being reported. Part of the reason is that those numbers are estimates based on complex math and computer models, not exact monitoring.

Focused on smog

Since the smog prevention group publicized the state data, Texas has required refineries and chemical plants to keep better tabs on cooling towers. But these efforts focus exclusively on butenes, propylene, ethylene and 1,3-butadiene - the four chemicals in the Houston region that help to form smog. Numerous other compounds that cause cancer and other health problems are not subject to additional rules.

While the executive director of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention applauds the efforts, he would rather see pollution control devices put on all leaking equipment or more frequent monitoring. The contractors hired to detect leaks at most chemical plants and refineries monitor most components only four times a year. At plants where less than 2 percent of the components are leaking, the state allows checkups to be even more infrequent.

While companies like Shell have successfully built airtight plants in Europe, the technology used there won't fit with the aging infrastructure on the Texas Gulf Coast, where many plants were built in the 1940s and '50s. Over time, aging equipment has been replaced, plants have expanded, and some of those shut down have been turned back on. But not since the late 1970s has a new refinery risen on vacant land in this country. The last major new chemical plant was built in the early 1990s. Rising prices for natural gas to fuel the petrochemical plants have forced many companies to open new facilities overseas.

In the refinery business, strict environmental regulations and increasing imports of crude oil have discouraged companies from building stateside. "You couldn't retrofit this facility because there is no room," said the staff environmental specialist at Shell Chemical. "It's almost impossible. You'd have to knock it down and start over again." To reduce pollution at its plant, Shell goes beyond the requirements. All pipes carrying benzene, a carcinogen, are routinely checked. And although less than 2 percent of the plant's components were found to be leaking, which could qualify it for an exemption, the company still completes quarterly inspections. "We are trying to get those emissions down, and that's how you do it - better monitoring," the staff environmental specialist at Shell Chemical said.

At other facilities, too, environmental managers have made strides to address some of the problems highlighted by the recent investigations. The BP plant in Texas City, one of those inspected in the 1999 study, now hires a second contractor to double-check its records. It also checks how quickly leak investigators are working to make sure enough time is being spent at each component. When the state inspected the plant in March, not a single leak was detected in a check of 300 valves, said the environmental superintendent. In places where there are leaks, however, detection doesn't guarantee action. The most stringent rules, those regulating the hazardous and ozone forming chemicals like 1,3- butadiene, require equipment leaks to be repaired within a week.

Other chemicals are allowed to seep for years, because regulations allow the company to wait to fix those leaks until its next major tuneup. These happen, on average, every five years. At Shell, 200 leaks await repair.

The site supervisor for ARI Environmental Inc on her daily rounds, doesn't even bother to stop at these. On a recent shift, she passed one with a large orange tag indicating that it had been leaking since November 2003. When it was last measured, the concentration of chemicals at the leak was 2,225 parts per million. The allowable limit is 500 parts per million. "In order to take it out of service, they would have to shut down the entire line," the staff environmental specialist at Shell Chemical explained, noting the possibility of bursts of chemical releases. "A shutdown typically creates a lot of emissions." Farther down, the site supervisor paused near valve No. 92181. It's part of a line carrying propane and was last tested in July. She slowly waved a wandlike metal probe over it. The valve passed.

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USA, CO, FRISCO, KEYSTONE, JANUARY 18 2005. FIVE INJURED IN KEYSTONE CHEMICAL SPILL

An ambulance transported five people to emergency care Tuesday when two noncompatible chemicals mixed after a spill at Keystone’s laundry center, according to Snake River Fire Department Captain.

The negative reaction occurred when a delivery truck driver was switching out cleaning solvents and two containers tipped over inside the laundry facility, the Captain said.

One barrel was filled with chlorine bleach and the other with a phosphoric acid, which are both liquid laundry agents, said public affairs coordinator for Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue.

Lake Dillon Fire- Rescue, the Snake River Fire Department, an ambulance and poison control responded to the building on Tennis Club Road shortly after noon Tuesday. All seven employees in the building and the truck driver were taken to a triage area for possible chemical inhalation. The most serious cases were those complaining of chest tightness and itchiness in their throats.

The seven employees and the truck driver went through a decontamination process of washing exposed skin and clothes. The five patients who were taken to the medical center changed out of their clothes and into chemical suits so they wouldn’t spread contamination, the Captain said. Fewer than 10 gallons spilled, nothing leaked outside the building and none of the area buildings was affected, the Captain also said. Technicians were also able to determine that the chemicals were no longer producing gas, before they used various absorbents to sop up the spill, the Captain said. The facility is in charge of all the laundry services for Keystone Resort.

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USA, CHICAGO, JANUARY 20 2005. BARGE CARRYING PETROLEUM PRODUCT EXPLODES IN CHICAGO

Authorities searched Wednesday for a man believed to be missing after a barge carrying thousands of gallons of a gooey petroleum byproduct exploded, caught fire and then sank in a ship canal.

The man was believed to have been working on the vessel when it burst into flames in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on the city's southwest side, said a spokesman for the Coast Guard in Chicago. The search was suspended late Wednesday night and was scheduled to resume Thursday morning.

A boiler on the barge apparently exploded, igniting the clarified slurry oil, which is a byproduct created when refining petroleum, said an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman. She said initial estimates indicate the barge was carrying about 13,000 barrels, or more than 500,000 gallons, of it. "This is a huge volume of petroleum byproduct,'' she said.

IEPA investigators went to the site of the explosion and crews tried Wednesday night to determine how much of the substance might have spilled into the 105- year-old canal, which serves as a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Clarified slurry oil normally has the consistency of honey and becomes thicker in cold water, which could lessen any potential environmental damage, the Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman said. "When a substance is more liquid it spreads farther,'' she said. "When it congeals or hardens it's easier to gather and remove. It doesn't mean there won't be any problems, but this lends itself to ease in removal.''

She said Egan Marine Corp., operated the barge and the company would be responsible for cleaning up any environmental damage. A woman who answered the phone at the company located in the Chicago suburb of Lemontsaid they would have no comment.

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USA, CHICAGO, JANUARY 21 2005. GOOFY RIDGE MAN INVOLVED IN BARGE EXPLOSION - TUGBOAT CAPTAIN WAS PUSHING LOAD OF CLARIFIED SLURRY OIL

A central Illinois man was piloting the tugboat pushing a barge loaded with thousands of barrels of petroleum byproduct when it exploded and sank on Chicago's southwest side earlier this week.

The pilot of the boat, a resident of Goofy Ridge in western Mason County, has been a tugboat captain for about eight years, his wife told the Journal Star on Thursday. "He told me they were just a half an hour away from docking (on Wednesday) when a couple of the men went out for a routine check. ... My husband said all of a sudden there was a big explosion, and he hit the floor," she said. "Debris was flying over. ... Scraps of debris were hitting the wheelhouse."

The Captain's wife was working at the Pekin Wal-Mart when she received the call about 5 p.m. Wednesday. "Witnesses told him that there was such a loud explosion and flames they thought a plane had crashed because it's close to Midway (Airport)," she said.

One of the tug's three crew members remained missing Thursday, authorities confirmed. The Captain's wife said the crew was made up of two brothers, one of whom is missing, and another man from the Lemont area where her husband's family's business is based. Her husband and the other two men were uninjured.

The missing crew member was believed to have been working on the vessel when it burst into flames about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, said Chicago Coast Guard Petty Officer. The search for the missing crew member resumed Thursday after being called off Wednesday night.

A boiler on the barge apparently exploded, igniting the clarified slurry oil, which is a byproduct created when refining petroleum, said Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman. She said initial estimates indicate the barge was carrying about 13,000 barrels, or more than 500,000 gallons, of it. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman said Thursday that some of the fuel burned off during the fire, and it was too soon to determine how much spilled into the canal. She said EPA responders have found no signs of the sticky substance one mile downstream from the barge site. "The fact that they were able to contain it will certainly make cleanup easier because we'll be dealing with a welldefined area," she said.

The 105-year-old canal serves as a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The barge was shipping the byproduct from an Exxon-Mobil facility in Joliet, the Chicago Coast Guard Petty Officer said. Clarified slurry oil normally has the consistency of honey and becomes thicker in cold water, which could lessen any potential environmental damage, she said. The Petter Officer also said Egan Marine Corp. operated the barge and that the company would be responsible for cleaning up any environmental damage.

A spokesman for Lemont-based Egan Marine said the barge made the same trip twice before without any problems. "There are several questions that have to be answered," the spokesman said. "Why that cargo would explode and where was the source of the explosion." The Coast Guard, which controls the port of Chicago and its waterways, ordered a section of the canal closed indefinitely to maritime traffic to determine whether the canal is safe.

The tugboat Captain's wife said her husband has never been a religious man, but he told her when he heard the explosion, " 'God told me to get down,' " she said. "It made a believer out of him."

CANADA, B.C, JANUARY 21 2005. CARBON MONOXIDE CAN HARM THE UNSUSPECTING

Several warehouse workers in Newfoundland were hospitalized for symptoms resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning in a recent close call, according to the province’s Occupational Health and Safety department.

Propane powered forklift trucks were reportedly the source of their carbon monoxide exposure. The warehouse relied on open doors as its only source of ventilation. There was no mechanical ventilation.

In another incident on board a vessel in British Columbia, a crew member felt dizzy during the night and got up to open the windows into the galley. The next day, he found that the other crew member, who had been sleeping in the bow area, had died. The ship’s engine, located under the floor of the cabin, had a leak in its exhaust system, which allowed carbon monoxide to seep through to where the crewmembers slept.

Both provinces have issued alerts to the public, stressing the importance of safety measures such as gas detection and mechanical ventilation to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide exposure. Carbon monoxide (CO) is generated by gasoline and propane powered engines. The fact that it is odourless, colourless and tasteless can make it difficult for people to realize they have been exposed to the gas.

According to CHEMINFO, the effects of exposure can range from mild to severe headaches (50 ppm to over 200 ppm); nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting and drowsiness (above 400 ppm); increased heartbeat, irregular heartbeat (above 1200 ppm); loss of consciousness and death (above 2000 ppm). At concentrations greater than 5000 ppm, death may occur in minutes. These symptoms are usually seen sooner or at lower concentrations of carbon monoxide if there is a heavy workload (increased breathing rate and increased blood flow).

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador recommends that in work areas such as warehouses, employers should consider using alternatives to internal combustion engines inside where possible. Where forklifts and other equipment with internal combustion engines are run inside, the facilities should have a mechanical ventilation system installed and maintained to control the levels of exhaust gas to an acceptable level. In addition, where propane powered forklifts are used inside a building, regular engine tuning and emission testing should be a part of the equipment’s routine maintenance. The carbon monoxide emissions should be within the maximum levels recommended under manufacturers’ standards.

Employers should install carbon monoxide monitors throughout the work area, including adjacent office areas. It is very important that these CO monitors be maintained as recommended by the manufacturer. Workers should be educated on the dangers of carbon monoxide and how to recognize signs of poisoning.

On a sea vessel, a marine grade carbon monoxide detector should be installed. The Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C. recommends configuring the engine exhaust system and sealing engine compartments to ensure exhaust gases cannot enter crew spaces. The system should be regularly inspected and maintained. All crew spaces should have an adequate supply of fresh air.

Read the full Alert - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Read the full alert from the Workers’ Compensation Board of BC.

USA, MO, COLUMBIA, JANUARY 20 2005. MAN DIES OF INJURIES FROM FUEL TANK EXPLOSION

A mid-Missouri truck driver has died from injuries he sustained when a fuel storage tank exploded. The victim a resident of Ashland, died Wednesday night at University Hospital, the Boone County coroner's office said.

The tank explosion occurred Jan. 7 at an MFA Oil Co. bulk storage facility in Marshall as crews were unloading fuel from a tanker truck into one of the aboveground storage tanks. The cause remains under investigation. The driver was burned over 90 percent of his body.

SOUTH KOREA, JANUARY 22 2005. TOXIC FUMES CRIPPLE WORKERS

Eight Thai workers in South Korea who worked with toxic chemicals without protective gear in closed, windowless rooms up to 14 hours a day, have been paralysed.

South Korean police have arrested two employees at a factory blamed for crippling the Thai immigrants. Police are questioning the plant manager and a senior worker at Dongwha Digital over accusations that they broke safety regulations while employing the women. Police are also hunting for the company president, who disappeared after reports about the women's plight were published.

Three of the eight Thai women returned to Seoul earlier this week to receive medical treatment. They are suffering from severe nerve damage that has paralysed them from the waist down. The women, aged between 19 and 37, were exposed to hexane - a toxic chemical used as a solvent to polish products at the Dongwha factory, which builds components for liquid crystal displays.

The colourless and odourless solvent can cause nerve damage when inhaled repeatedly. 'They worked under harsh conditions in closed rooms without windows for up to 14 hours a day, without wearing masks, gloves or goggles,' said a representative of the Ansan Migrant Shelter.

USA, LA, BAKERSFIELD, JANUARY 20 2005. THREE WORKERS INJURED WHEN OIL LINE IGNITES

A pipeline carrying crude oil at the Kern Oil & Refining Co. broke Wednesday, igniting a fire that injured three employees who were hospitalized for burns, authorities said.

The fire started shortly before 9 a.m., and three workers were treated at the scene for moderate to serious burns and taken to the hospital, said an engineer with the Kern County Fire Department.

One worker was released from the hospital after being treated for minor burns to his face and the other two workers were en route to the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles, said a company spokesman. He said refining operations were not interrupted and that workers extinguished the fire soon after it started.

The cause of the pipeline rupture was under investigation.

CHINA, BEIJING, JANUARY 22 2005. TRUCK WITH 44 TONS OF GASOLINE ON FIRE

An oil truck carrying 44 tons of gasoline caught fire at 1100 am on Friday in the Linzi district of Zibo of Eastern China'sShandong Province. A local fire brigade arrived to the spot four minutes later and put on the fire at 13:20 pm.

The roadwas full of bumps and holes because of the high temperature, and covered with white foam and dirty water. The causeof the accident is still under investigation.

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USA, NEW YORK, JANUARY 22 2005. BERSERK 'KILLER' HUBBY

Police say a man survived when he rammed his car into a gastanker trailer after killing his wife. In Brooklyn, the woman's relatives broke down in tears yesterday after learning of her death.

An enraged Brooklyn man stabbed his wife and fatally bludgeoned her with a brick early yesterday, before ramming his car into a gasoline tanker truck in an apparent suicide bid, police sources said. The man, 39, plowed his Lexus sedan into the truck at about 2:30 a.m. while the 5,000-gallon rig was parked at a Mobil gas station on the Belt Parkway.

The wreck left the Kensington man seriously injured and spilled thousands of gallons of gasoline, police said. The apparent suicide bid came a short time after the Brooklyn salesman got into a fatal domestic dispute with his wife of 15 years, in which they fought apparently over a possible breakup, police sources said.

The couple had a history of domestic trouble, including three incidents reported to police since September. But friends and family said they could not believe the pair's relationship could have led to murder. "My sister didn't deserve this," said the victim's sister. "She did not deserve to die." The couple's last night together began to turn deadly about 1 a.m. yesterday, when the husband, who pals said hailed from Jamaica, West Indies, allegedly attacked his wife, a hairdresser who came from Barbados when she was 18.

Police sources said the wounds on the woman's body lead them to believe she was stabbed in the side of her torso and hit in the head with the brick. After the killing, the husband allegedly called the pair's live-in nanny, who came home and found Joyce's body in a bathroom. The couple's two daughters, ages 3 and 14, were also home, but unhurt.

The husband then went racing down the Belt Parkway. At 2:30 a.m. he hit the tanker, which was delivering fuel to a station in the center median near the Flatbush Avenue exit. The wreck left the husband in Lutheran Hospital with a crushed hip and broken leg, police said.

Thousands of gallons of gasoline spilled. Some washed off into the wetlands near Jamaica Bay, but most was captured in drains on station property. The city Department of Environmental Protection ordered a cleanup of the drain traps so the spillage does not seep into ground water.

The family of the deceased wife, meanwhile, began the difficult grieving process. "She was an excellent woman, she came from a quality family," a friend said of the victim. "She came from a family that taught good values. I am shocked."

AFRICA, WESTERN CAPE, JANUARY 25 2005. BLAZE DAMAGES PLASTIC FACTORY

Firefighters, wearing special breathing apparatuses to protect themselves from toxic fumes, battled for two hours on Monday to put out a fire that extensively damaged a plastic recycling factory in Parow Industria. By 4pm, fire officials at the scene reported that the blaze had been extinguished.

According to the station officer at the fire control centre about 50 personnel, using eight pumps, two water tankers, two response vehicles, two command buses, one hydraulic platform and one medical response vehicle, battled to put out the fire. No injuries or deaths had been reported, the station officer said.

Traffic in the immediate vicinity was disrupted for the duration of the fire as firefighters battled flames on three sides of the building. The station officer said the light wind that was blowing at the time did not fuel the fire, although it blew the dense smoke across the Bellville area. Staff at the factory, Plastic Cycle in Junction Street, had been evacuated, as were people working in nearby buildings who had been affected by the smoke, he said.

The senior fire officer at the scene confirmed that no injuries had been reported, but said walls of an adjacent building had been damaged by the smoke. The senior fire officer at the scene also said the fire had been restricted to the rear part of the factory, where the plastic goods were stored, and the rest of the building had not been damaged. He said the fire department had received the report about the fire at about 1.30pm and firefighters reached the scene minutes later. The blaze was under control about two hours later, he said. He could not say what had caused it.

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USA, NEW JERSEY, JANUARY 25TH 2005, THREE DEAD IN ACETYLENE PLANT EXPLOSION

It has certainly been a tragic day in Perth Amboy because all of the victims are from this community and it appears at this time that about 10:43 this morning there was an earth-shaking explosion when some acetelyne gas was being tranferred from one container to another. Apparently there was some sort of leak in that system.

Two people died on the scene and a third person died at the hospital. This evening family members are trying to deal with the fate of their loved ones. The tears were flowing outside the hospital as family members of one of the victims found out the awful truth. One victim's family is distraught. The victim was the youngest of thirteen children and many of them came to the hospital or to the scene of the accident to find out exactly what happened. At least two of the victim's family members worked at the cetylene Service Company and one brothe said he quit the company a couple of years because he thought it was too dangerous. The victim's wife was pregnant with the couple's first child. As elderly parents came to the emergency room and into the arms of family members they were overcome with emotion.

Officials say they're still investigating but say that at this point it appears a tragic accident. Perth Amboy's Mayor said "I would like to first of all convey my condolences to all of the families who've been affected by this accident. Our hearts and prayers are with them and we can certainly sympathasize with their loss."

The aforementioned victim's birthday was supposed to be tomorrow but now his family is planning for a funeral. The second victim died inside the plant while the third victim died at the hospital.

A fourth living victim has been listed in critical condition at Robert Woods Johnson Hospital. Eight other people were also taken to the hospital but their injuries are considered minor.

The facility, located on the Arthur Kill River about 25 miles south of New York City, provides liquid chemical and petroleum storage and handling, as well as dry-bulk handling of salt and aggregates.