December 29, 2012

The Lives Unlived in Newtown
   By Sara Mosle, NYTIMES Magazine

On a country highway in the tiny town of New London, Tex., sits a small tea shop and a museum that houses the collective grief of a community that lost its children. On the afternoon of March 18, 1937, the London Consolidated School exploded a few minutes before classes were to be dismissed. An odorless cloud of natural gas had leaked from a faulty heating system into the building’s unventilated basement and ignited, most likely from a spark from the school’s shop class.

According to witnesses, the school appeared to blast off its foundation and hover in the air before collapsing again, generating clouds of ash and debris that plowed across the schoolyard. Scores of mothers, who had been attending a P.T.A. meeting in the nearby wood gymnasium, staggered out into a blizzard of whirling papers and pulverized mortar. When the dust settled, approximately 300 people were dead, nearly all of them children...

Read the article: The Lives Unlived in Newtown

...In the months before the 1937 explosion, state fire regulators tried to raise the alarm about the perils of natural gas, but it took the death of schoolchildren to impel politicians to act. Within days of the disaster, Texas legislators went into emergency session to promote the addition of a “malodorant” to natural gas, which has since saved countless lives.
 

November 26, 2012

Who Is Your 2013 Healthy Schools Hero?
Please post. Please forward

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ellie Goldberg, M.Ed., healthykids@rcn.com 
Attn:  Science educators, STEM advocates, professionals in public health, school health, environmental health, facilities management, IAQ, IPM, health and safety, lab safety, school security, emergency and risk management, asthma educators, first responders, school administrators, nurses, advocates, parents and students.

Do you know someone whose sense of responsibility, inspirational leadership, and exemplary persistence and courage protects children from school hazards and unhealthy school conditions?

Send your hero's name, email/phone #,
and your hero's story by February 10, 2013
to Ellie Goldberg at healthykids@rcn.com
 
Lessons Learned. Lives Saved.  

The Healthy Kids Healthy Schools Hero Award was created as an annual opportunity to tell the story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion and to inspire leadership and partnerships to protect children from the chemical hazards and unhealthy conditions in today's schools. (HEROES 2012 - 2004)

March 18, 2013 is the 76th anniversary of the 1937 Texas School Explosion.  The 1937 Texas School Explosion was the worst school disaster in American history. It was a gas explosion that killed more than 300 people, mostly students, just minutes before the end of the day in their new state-of-the-art public school. No expense had been spared except when it came to safety.

The story of the 1937 Texas School Explosion needs to be part of our national legacy because the decision-making that led to the 1937 explosion is the same type of decision-making in too many schools today.  The story can inspire us to break the silence about school hazards and to prioritize the values and technical skills we need to live safely with 21st century chemicals and technology.
Send your 2013 hero's name, contact information, and your hero's story by February 10, 2013 to Ellie Goldberg at healthykids@rcn.com
- 0 -
Photo (E. Goldberg,2005): Cenotaph Commemorates Memory of Those Who Died in School Blast March 18, 1937  http://www.newlondonschool.org/Cenotaph.htm

November 24, 2012

When Washing Rags Creates Toxic Emissions

Mechanic Ray Duran changes oil in a car at a Shell station in Los Angeles in 2011. (Reed Saxon/AP)
Shop towels, which are used to wipe up oil, solvents and chemicals, can release toxic chemicals into the air when laundered – but they’re largely unregulated.

Science journalist Barbara Moran, who wrote about the issue in The Hartford Courant, told Here & Now that environmental regulators admitted to her they had missed this problem of solvents from industrial rags and shop towels in industrial laundries.   

"Inspectors were amazed at the fumes."

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/11/26/rags-toxic-emissions
"I'm taking an organic chemistry class. and we use a lot of these chemicals in the lab and we wear goggles and gloves and work under a fume hood and often people get sick anyway and have to leave lab and get some air….Barbara Moran.

November 23, 2012

Laboratory Safety
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Specialized Information Services(SIS) recently released a new Enviro-Health Links page, “Laboratory Safety” (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/labsafety.html) which offers links to information for clinical, academic and school laboratories, including resources for handling chemical, biological and nanotechnology safely.

Also included are links to regulations and policy, hazard analysis, MSDS, waste management, and pre-formulated TOXNET and PubMed searches


Example: 

Creating Safety Cultures in Academic Institutions: A Report of the Safety Culture Task Force of the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, 2012 (PDF, 1.3 MB)  Committee on Chemical Safety, American Chemical Society

October 22, 2012

Safe Schools. Pipeline Preparedness.
Approximately one in every 20 schools is located within a half-mile of a transmission pipeline or above ground pipeline facility.

The Pipeline Association for Public Awareness helps schools improve safety planning and readiness through sponsorship of the School Pipeline Safety Partnership. http://www.pipelineawareness.org/schools/

Learn more:
Lessons Learned: Lafayette Indiana Natural Gas Explosion (video)
http://www.pipelineawareness.org/featured-video-lafayette-case-study

On November 27, 2002 the Lafayette Fire Department responded to a "routine" gas leak.  Dispatch reported that a construction crew struck a natural gas line while installing a traffic signal light.  At least four separate explosions destroyed four homes that day.  Responders from the Lafayette Fire Department share their experience and key takeaways in the video below including information about how to plan for the unexpected, anticipating migrating gas, proper gear, clear communication and the importance of ICS and advance partnerships with operators.
 

October 19, 2012

Open Source Training Makes Labs Safer for All

In the summer of 2012, BioRAFT teamed with the New Hampshire IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (NH-INBRE), a collaborative network of 10 two- and four-year colleges within the state, and Dartmouth College Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) to launch LabSafetyWorkspace.org. This online laboratory safety training program provides student scientists and faculty with the knowledge they need to work safely in a lab setting. While launched for New Hampshire-based undergraduate colleges and universities, LabSafetyWorkspace.org is open to scientists worldwide to take introductory safety training courses.
 Occupational Health and Safety Exit NIEHS Website [Author: Nathan Watson]
Thomas Edison's Lab, Greenfield Village, Michigan (E. Goldberg, 2005)

October 16, 2012

NEW EPA HEALTHY SCHOOL GUIDELINES & WEBINARS

EPA is pleased to announce the release of Voluntary Guidelines for States: Development and Implementation of a School Environmental Health Program. The guidelines were mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and were developed in consultation with other federal agencies, states, school officials, and non-profit organizations.

School environments play an important role in the health and academic success of children. Children spend 90% of their time indoors and much of that time is spent in school. Unhealthy school environments can affect children’s health, attendance, concentration, and performance, as well as lead to expensive, time-consuming cleanup and remediation activities.


These voluntary guidelines recommend six steps states can take to build or enhance a school environmental health program. The guidelines also include a model K-12 school environmental health program as a resource that states can customize and share with schools and school districts to help them establish, or enhance an existing, school environmental health program. The model program incorporates EPA’s unique school programs such as Tools for Schools, Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (Healthy SEAT), ENERGY Star for K-12 Schools and others, to help schools and school districts begin or enhance a comprehensive school environmental health program.


To complement the guidelines release, OCHP will be hosting two webinars in October and November, respectively. 

 
(1) The first webinar, Why Environmental Health Matters in Schools, will be held on October 17th from 2:00-3:00pm EST. The webinar will feature Larry K. Lowry, PhD, Director of the Southwest Center for Pediatric Environmental Health (SWCPEH) and Director of Graduate Programs in Environmental Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, who will discuss the critical link between students and their environment and how it can affect their performance in school.
 
(2) The second webinar, Integrated School Health Tools for Districts, will be held on Wednesday November 7th from 2:00-3:00pm EST. This webinar will discuss how schools and school districts can create healthy environments for students by implementing a comprehensive, sustainable environmental health program. The webinar will feature highlights, tips, and strategies from established state programs. 
 
You can register for both webinars at: https://esbuildings.webex.com/mw0306ld/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=esbuildings
 
To learn more about the guidelines, please visit our website at www.epa.gov/schools.

October 10, 2012


On Thursday, September 27, 2012 the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) released a 60-page chemical management toolkit to assist Arizona school districts in managing chemicals used at schools.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks responsible chemical management as a top priority for schools, stating that many school buildings "contain environmental conditions that inhibit learning and pose increased risks to the health of children and staff."

English version 

The EPA provides information and resources on its own healthy schools chemical management website.

The EPA video on the SC3 campaign to clean up chemicals in schools provides an in-depth look at the many places chemicals can be found in and outside the chemistry lab, and the process of removal in several schools in the US.


Earth Science Week 2012 (October 14-20)

Explore ‘Big Ideas’ in Award-Winning Videos

AGI now offers award-winning videos and other electronic resources to help students, educators, and others explore the “big ideas” of Earth science during Earth Science Week 2012 (October 14-20) and all year long. AGI’s Big Ideas videos recently won three prestigious awards: Digital Video (DV) Winner in Education, DV Winner in Nature/Wildlife, and Videographer Award of Excellence.


Big Ideas videos are brief video clips that bring to life the big ideas of Earth science - the nine core concepts that everyone should know. The Earth Science Literacy Initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, has codified these underlying understandings of Earth science which form the basis of the Big Ideas videos.


View the Big Ideas videos on YouTube
or TeacherTube.  The Earth Science Week web site provides related resources. Educators can find dozens of classroom activities to help students build understanding of the “big ideas” online (http://www.earthsciweek.org/forteachers/bigideas/main.html).

Earth Science Week 2012 (October 14-20) 

 2012 Theme

“Discovering Careers in the Earth Sciences,” the theme of Earth Science Week 2012, will boost awareness about the geosciences and the many exciting career and job opportunities in the field.

Objectives

  • To engage students in discovering the Earth sciences.
  • To remind people that Earth science is all around us.
  • To encourage Earth stewardship through understanding.
  • To motivate geoscientists to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the Earth.
 

September 28, 2012


NSTA: Shell Science Teaching Award

The Shell Science Teaching Award recognizes one outstanding classroom science teacher (K–12) who has had a positive impact on his or her students, school, and community through exemplary classroom science teaching. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: K–12 classroom science teachers. Deadline: November 12, 2012.
http://www.nsta.org/about/awards.aspx?lid=tnavhp#shell

September 27, 2012


“Developing a Chemical Safety Plan: Tips for Reducing Risk”

Facility Masters Series Webcast, Thursday, September 27 from 12:00-1:15pm EASTERN. http://www.facilitymastersonline.com/webcasts/
Learn how to improve safety and protect students, teachers and staff from chemical threats with an effective chemical management plan.

In this webinar, you will learn chemical safety standards and best practices that will help you:
  • Prepare a written chemical management plan
  • Conduct and document a chemical inventory
  • Establish a chemical storage system
  • Identify and train a chemical coordinator
  • Recognize and eliminate chemical safety and storage hazards
  • Create a culture of safety in managing chemicals
  • Establish preventive maintenance activities to manage chemical safety long-term
  • Educate administrators, maintenance/custodial staff, teachers and students
Additional chemical safety best practices are available at www.facilitymastersonline.com/resources.

September 18, 2012

Pipeline Safety - Trust But Verify
What does "Trust but Verify" mean when it comes to pipeline safety?
November 8th & 9th, 2012
at the Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans

The Pipeline Safety Trust will host our 7th annual pipeline safety conference where we will once again bring together a unique mix of experience from the affected public, local government, the pipeline industry, and pipeline regulators to discuss the hard issues and create greater understanding to move pipeline safety initiatives forward. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us!

Besides these presentations, don’t forget the conference’s great networking opportunities. It’s the only “all-inclusive” pipeline safety conference in the country: one that’s open to everyone in the pipeline safety community. So you’ll get information and perspectives from industry, the public, elected officials, and regulators from around the nation.

Draft Agenda


Register today - prices increase 10/6/12.
Click the box above that says "Registration Form" and fax it to 360-543-0978, email it to chris@pstrust.org, or mail it to

Pipeline Safety Trust
300 N. Commercial St., Suite B
Bellingham, WA 98225
Happy P2 Week! September 17 - 23  http://www.p2.org
Safer Chemicals for a Safer World, the 2012 P2 Week Theme, embodies a national effort to move toward safer alternatives and reduce chemicals of concern. Learn more about P2 Week activities going on this week.

September 14, 2012

EPA Awards Almost $11 Million to Advance Chemical Safety Research
 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $11 million in grants to eight universities through EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program. These grants will help the universities develop fast and effective methods to test chemicals’ toxicity to people and the environment. The grantees will focus on developing methods and models to predict how exposure to environmental and synthetic (man-made) chemicals and chemical mixtures may harm the public.

Environmental Protection Agency
DOT Launches Pipeline Safety Update

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has unveiled a new website called Pipeline Safety Update that is intended to offer information about pipeline regulations, pipeline safety issues, and the role of stakeholders in pipeline safety. The new site was developed because of recent pipeline disasters, which caused Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to instruct DOT to examine the nation’s pipeline infrastructure and report the findings to the public.

Occupational Health and Safety

DOT Website

September 13, 2012

FACILITY MASTERS WEBCAST
A chemical safety plan is essential to mitigate the risks of the many hazardous chemicals that are necessary for student learning programs and custodial maintenance.

You need a program in place to uncover and manage potential chemical dangers, as well as safely utilize and store chemicals.

Join a FREE, interactive 75-minute webcast to learn how to improve safety and protect students, teachers and staff from chemical threats with an effective chemical management plan. You’ll hear industry experts discuss how conducting a thorough chemical inventory and following proper storage procedures can help you identify and minimize chemical hazards.

Developing a Chemical Safety Plan: Tips for Reducing Risk
Thursday, September 27
12:00pm-1:15pm EASTERN
Register Now!

In this webinar, you will learn chemical safety standards and best practices that will help you:

Prepare a written chemical management plan
Conduct and document a chemical inventory
Establish a chemical storage system
Identify and train a chemical coordinator
Recognize and eliminate chemical safety and storage hazards
Create a culture of safety in managing chemicals
Establish preventive maintenance activities to manage chemical safety long-term
Educate administrators, maintenance/custodial staff, teachers and students
Register now for this free webcast: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/3wsx6f2653j4

Presenters are:

Becky Wehrman-Andersen: Owner – Hazardous Materials Consulting
Roger Young: Executive Director – Facility Masters
Justin Turner: Applications Specialist – SchoolDude.com
Can’t join us on 9/27? Register anyway and receive the webcast recording via email.

Click or copy and paste the below link into your internet browser to register:
https://cc.readytalk.com/r/3wsx6f2653j4

This Facility Masters webcast is sponsored by your friends at SchoolDude!

For additional resources on improving chemical safety, PM and the learning environment, visit the Facility Masters Resource Library and the SchoolDude Resource Library.

September 09, 2012

Abandoned factory packed with toxic chemicals. Dozens of drums and barrels containing thousands of pounds of hazardous and toxic chemicals are stacked inside an abandoned metal plating factory on Oak St. in the heart of the village - surrounded by homes and only a few blocks from three schools. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin.
http://bit.ly/Qsbaez


Photos

September 07, 2012

Worker-Inspired Safer Chemicals Database Launched

Workers wanting safer workplaces now have a new tool to help them: the ChemHAT (Chemical Hazard and Alternatives Toolkit) database. The free, online database was designed in consultation with workers who deal with hazardous chemicals every day. The ChemHAT database allows workers to quickly search 10,000 commonly used chemicals and see their acute and chronic health effects. In the near future, the database will provide the ability for users to identify safer alternatives to the chemicals they are using. The BlueGreen Alliance will host a webinar on the ChemHAT database on September, 25, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. EDT, the webinar registration link is below.
EHS Today Exit NIEHS Website [Author Sandy Smith]
ATF To Investigate Tulsa School Fire, Explosion That Injured Firefighters,  News On 6, 9/6/2012
Federal resources are in Tulsa investigating a fire that injured several firefighters. The Tulsa Fire Department and the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms met Thursday night about Wednesday's fiery explosion at the old Barnard Elementary school building.


* Caught On Video: Fire, Explosion Destroy Tulsa School Of Arts And Sciences  9/5/2012 

Oil, chemical, coal releases during Hurricane Isaac should have been avoided, environmental groups say

Published: Thursday, September 06, 2012, 4:28 PM     Updated: Thursday, September 06, 2012, 5:26 PM, By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune
At least 93 pollution incidents related to Hurricane Isaac should have been prevented by proper precautions by oil and gas, chemical and coal-handling facilities, representatives of three environmental groups said Thursday. 

"Its completely shameful and irresponsible and inexcusable that seven years after Katrina and Rita, the lessons of those storms, the lessons we were taught by the BP oil disaster, that we have industry's continued business-as-usual approach to showcase the fact that their inaction and their ill preparedness has proven to be dangerous and deadly and unacceptable to the health of our communities, our families and our workers," said Jill Mastrototero, Gulf Coast Campaign director for the Sierra Club.

July 28, 2012

Safety Culture Goes Far Beyond Work
Canadian Occupational Safety - February 2010
By: Shawn Galloway, ProAct Safety
... If we can help all employees recognize early-on how safety applies to the things they care about most, we create not only a safety conscious culture, we help the culture create safer families and communities.

Read the article.

July 27, 2012



The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) is seeking videos that show the diversity of people working every day as environmental education professionals committed to protecting the Earth, increasing STEM, civic engagement and green career pathways preparation for all! It seeks video stories to tell students about the infinite careers that make up the environmental education (EE) profession.  Four winners will receive a new iPad3 and their video will be featured on NAAEE’s website and at the NAAEE annual conference in Oakland, CA in October 2012. See details.

July 19, 2012

NSF’s new Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program Solicitation  The National Science Foundation is pleased to announce the release of its new Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program Solicitation (12-560) in the Directorate of Education and Human Resources, Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL). The AISL solicitation invites proposals that propose ideas, concepts, research, models programs, and or other opportunities for innovative and field advancing informal out of school STEM learning and emerging STEM learning environments.
Depending on the project type, projects may be funded for up to $250,000 over two years or up to $2.5 million over up to five years. The Full Scale Development and Broad Implementation project types offer the possibility of receiving up to an additional $500,000, if the project includes a research component.

Optional Preliminary Proposals Deadline: August 14, 2012
Full Proposal Deadline: January 14, 2013

Additional Resources:
For the online AISL Solicitation FAQ, visit the CAISE website at http://caise.insci.org/resources/nsf-aisl-program/faq.
For specific questions, please contact the AISL Program at driaisl@nsf.gov.
For a list of currently funded ISE/AISL awards, visit the NSF awards database at http://www.nsf.gov/awards/about.jsp.
For more information about DRL, visit DRL homepage at http://nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DRL.

July 17, 2012

YouTube Resource for Educators and Trainers - Historic Workplace & Environmental Health and Safety Films


This channel currently contains more than 900 historic films and films clips on a wide range of workplace and environmental health and safety topics.

July 12, 2012

Regulations needed to make sure propane is odorized before it gets to distribution chains and to solve odorant fade issues at the consumer level.

$7.5M settlement in deadly Mass. propane explosion  The Republic.  Family of late Mass. propane gas explosion victim gets $7.5M in legal settlement. BRIDGET MURPHY Associated Press; July 09, 2012  

July 11, 2012



2010 Michigan oil spill blamed on "complete breakdown of safety at Enbridge." After a two-year investigation, The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded that Enbridge's response system was inadequate for pipeline safety and that the most expensive oil pipeline spill in U.S. history could have been prevented if known defects had been repaired. Inside Climate News
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120710/national-transportation-safety-board-ntsb-kalamazoo-enbridge-6B-pipeline-marshall-michigan

June 30, 2012

(Beyond Pesticides, June 5, 2012) A new study finds that children exposed to high levels of naphthalene, a common air pollutant and the active ingredient in mothballs, are at increased risk for chromosomal aberrations (CA's) that have been associated with increased cancer risk in adults. These include chromosomal translocations, a potentially more harmful and long-lasting subtype of CAs, which are of special concern as they result in a portion of one chromosome being juxtaposed to a portion of another chromosome, potentially scrambling the genetic script.
 
Source: Columbia University Press Release  Children Exposed to Naphthalene—a Common Pollutant Best Known as the Key Ingredient in Mothballs—Show Signs of Chromosomal Damage
  

June 29, 2012

The Third Annual Laboratory Safety Survey

Small but steady improvement across most lab safety categories.  By: Pamela Ahlberg - Published: June 16 2012
 
Three years ago we began surveying our readers to find out about their lab safety practices and to track how those practices change moving forward. Last year’s survey indicated fairly substantial improvement over 2010 despite the continuing economic pressures that might have made lab health and safety a “nice to have” and not a “must have.” But that was not the case last year, nor was it the case this year, when we found modest but steady improvement across nearly all lab health and safety categories.


Read article.
.

Remembering a chlorine derailment, puresafety.com, Dr. Scott Harris

Remembering a chlorine derailment
It doesn’t seem like eight years since I had a major run-in with a railcar of “skull and crossbones” material, but today was the day.  At that time I was a Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) with the U.S. EPA in Dallas, TX.  FOSCs are the lead for agency responses to oil and hazardous substance releases and have full authority to direct all public and private resources to stop or prevent a release.

Read more...

Go to the EPA website for a close-up look at this unique event.  I also highly recommend the lessons learned report prepared for the National Response Team.

UL PureSafety’s software and information solutions empower employees to improve workforce health and safety.

 

June 27, 2012



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AOPL Board Adopts Pipeline Safety Principles

Washington, DC - June 26, 2012 - This week, operators of our nation's liquid pipelines reaffirmed their commitment to safety through adoption of eight pipeline safety principles by the Board of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL). AOPL is the national trade association for operators of oil, natural gas liquid and carbon dioxide pipelines in the United States.

AOPL Board Chairman Todd Denton, President of Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC, said:
"Our Nation's energy liquid pipeline operators demonstrate they are serious about safety by valuing these safety principles. Making these principles part of our culture is how we act safely every day to protect the public and our employees."
The eight liquid pipeline safety principles are:
* Zero Incidents
* Organization-Wide Commitment
* A Culture of Safety
* Continuous Improvement
* Learn from Experience
* Systems for Success
* Employ Technology
* Communicate with Stakeholders
Read more:  06/26/2012 - AOPL Board Adopts Pipeline Safety Principles  

June 24, 2012

Rafael Moure-Eraso: It's time for government and industry to adopt inherently safer technology

"it is time for the EPA and other regulators to give this proposal another serious look and make IST a cornerstone of its accident prevention programs. It is time for industry to welcome the principles of IST -- substitute, minimize, moderate, and simplify -- and effect the changes needed to make chemical plants inherently safer." -- CSB Chair Rafael Moure-Eraso 6-24-12 Op Ed Charleston Gazette

http://wvgazette.com/Opinion/OpEdCommentaries/201206230057#.T-daKEo6HrE.facebook


June 11, 2012

Resources- School Crisis Guide



On June 10, 1999 at 3:30 on a beautiful spring afternoon the people of Bellingham learned the hard way that there is a 16 inch pipeline that runs through the middle of our community. Due to lack of care by the pipeline company, and lack of oversight by the responsible government agencies, we here in Bellingham were forced to live through grief unimaginable.

But here in Bellingham once the flames and smoke were gone, the dead were buried and the tears had dried, we did something quite unique in the history of such tragedies. We came together as a community to help those most affected, to heal the creek and land we love, and to try our best to make sure no other community has to experience such needless grief. Through our successes in these efforts we have made great progress in healing ourselves.

These pages tell the story of this journey.

We have come a long way since that day, but I do take a moment to think that day over each year. Some of us wrote our story, pictures, video, and other memories of that time. http://www.pstrust.org/whatcomcreek/GlennArchambault.htm



UGI cited over safety violations in Allentown gas explosion

Investigators recommend the utility be fined $386,000

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-gas-explosion-investigation-20120611,0,5815506.story

By Scott Kraus, Of The Morning Call

1:34 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2012

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission investigators have cited UGI Utilities for multiple safety violations in connection with the devastating 2011 gas explosion in Allentown, recommending a series of corrective actions and the imposition of a $386,000 fine on the utility, the maximum allowed by law.

The cause, as suspected, was a leak emanating from a crack in an 83-year-old cast-iron gas distribution line buried beneath Allen Street. The formation of the crack was accelerated by corrosion where the pipe was supported by wooden blocks.


The findings are a result of a 16-month investigation conducted by the PUC in cooperation with UGI Utilities, whose gas lines erupted in the late evening of Feb. 9, 2011, at 13th and Allen streets, flattening eight homes and killing five people.
Wheeling school officials opposing proposed gas well near high school  The Republic, They cite the possibility of an explosion, a spill, and other threats. In an interview with The Intelligencer (http://bit.ly/LdCgjW ), Board of Education President Erik Schramm said school officials have a duty to ensure that development near the school is done responsibly and safely.

June 06, 2012


Clean, Green and Healthy Tribal Schools

 U.S. EPA Region 8 is hosting an all-day Clean, Green and Healthy Tribal Schools Workshop on June 11, in Denver, CO, in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Summer Institute. The workshop is designed for tribal school administrators and school stakeholders, with the goal of providing information and tools for tribal school personnel to ensure that tribal schools are clean, green and healthy for themselves, school children and their community. Detailed information on the workshop, including an agenda, can be found here: http://epa.gov/region8/tribalschools/. IAQ Tools for Schools will be showcased throughout multiple sessions as guidance schools can follow to help maintain healthy school environments.

The entire workshop will also be broadcast via an online livestream. To access the livestream on the morning of the June 11, click on this link http://www.livestream.com/cleangreenhealthytribalschools. No registration is necessary to view the livesteam and you will be able to view specific agenda topics of your choosing.

For further information and answers to questions, please contact Matthew Langenfeld, U.S. EPA Region 8, at 303‐312‐6284 800‐227‐8917 or langenfeld.matthew@epa.gov<mailto:langenfeld.matthew@epa.gov>.

June 01, 2012


Old science class chemicals removed The Beatrice Daily Sun (Nebraska) reports (http://bit.ly/JmSeKt) that a hazardous-waste disposal company based in Norwell, Mass., Clean Harbors, cleared away a total of 320 pounds of chemicals from Beatrice High School and Beatrice Middle School. 5 23 2012
 

Training Workshop on Preventing Chemical Accidents

On Thursday, June 7, 2012 from 8:00 AM – 4:00 p.m. ET the Rutgers University Busch Campus Center in Piscataway, N.J. will host a training workshop on preventing chemical accidents. The goal is to create an effective worker-management health and safety committee that can provide a safe venue for workers to report health, safety, and maintenance issues and resolve health and safety problems to prevent accidents and workplace injuries. This workshop is for individuals and safety committee members employed in the chemical and oil sector and use highly hazardous chemicals. Pre-registration is required.

May 25, 2012


The cenotaph to the victims of the 1937 Texas School Explosion.
Gone at 317 YouTubeVideo 
The75th Anniversary of the opening of the Mother Frances Hospital. It opened a day earlier than planned to take care of many hurt children from the March 18 1937 New London school explosion.  David Brown, author, and Jimmie Robinson, survivor interviewed.
Jimmie Robinson, Survivor
Author, David Brown

May 07, 2012

Fire reveals gaps in information on chemicals, other hazards. Dispatched to a one-story brick warehouse in flames on Baylis Street in Canton last month, firefighters did not know it contained 8,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals. But not because it wasn't known to the Baltimore City Fire Department. Baltimore Sun, Maryland.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-canton-fire-response-20120506,0,5963885.story

April 27, 2012

Teacher, 3 students hurt in NY school lab fireWall Street Journal  AP CLAY, NY — Authorities say a teacher and three students are recovering from burns suffered in a small explosion and fire during a science class demonstration at their suburban Syracuse school. Officials with the Liverpool Central School District ...

One student remains hospitalized day after Soule Road Middle School explosion Syracuse.com   Video by John Berry / The-Post-Standard Watch video Syracuse, NY – One girl was listed in good condition at Upstate University Hospital this morning after she was burned in an explosion Thursday in a science lab at Soule Road Middle School in Clay, ...

April 19, 2012

The Pipeline Safety Trust Conferences
Pipeline Safety – Getting to Zero
Nearly everyone says getting to zero incidents is the primary safety goal, so how do we do that?
Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, Louisiana, Nov. 17th & 18th, 2011

See all presentations @  

Sample of presentations: Aging infrastructure? Where’s it a problem and what’s the fix?

The Honorable Ed Pawlowski,
Mayor, Allentown PA
The Honorable Ed Pawlowski, Mayor, Allentown PA

Linda Daugherty,
Deputy Associate Administrator,
Policy & Programs, PHMSA

View Ms. Daugherty's PowerPoint slides.
Linda Daugherty, Deputy Associate Administrator, Policy & Programs, PHMSA

Mark McDonald,
President, New England Gas Workers Association

View Mr. McDonald's PowerPoint slides.
Mark McDonald, President, New England Gas Workers Association

Sue Fleck,
Vice President of Engineering Standards & Policy,
National Grid

View Ms. Fleck's PowerPoint slides.
Sue Fleck, Vice President of Engineering Standards & Policy, National Grid

April 16, 2012

Booker T. Washington alumni remember disaster 

Texas City Disaster April 16, 1947
Daily News - Galveston County
That point was evident for many students of the Booker T. Washington School, the city's segregated black school at the time, on April 16, 1947. That's the day a ship loaded with ammonium nitrate exploded, setting off a series of events that killed ...

April 13, 2012

Guidelines for Laboratory Design: Health and Safety Considerations Program

On May 7 – 11, 2012, the Harvard School of Public Health will convene a laboratory design workshop designed to offer a multidisciplinary perspective on health, safety, and energy conservation in laboratory design. The multidisciplinary approach to laboratory design ensures better understanding of the needs of all team members as well as the goals and demands of the project itself. Architects, design and facilities engineers, and occupational health and safety professionals will be able to ensure that the completed laboratory will be safe, free of hazards, ergonomically sound, and environmentally friendly.