- Philadelphia water contamination memes brought humor after chemical spill The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Philadelphia officials drink tap water to prove it’s safe CBS Philadelphia
- Philadelphia tap water officially safe for all uses following chemical spill: city officials CBS Philadelphia
- Philadelphia’s drinking water declared safe; city will not be impacted by Bucks County chemical spill WPVI-TV
- Philadelphia’s water contamination was a test of the city’s response to a crisis. It failed. The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Tag Archives: Chemical
Philly Residents ‘May Not Wish to Drink or Cook With Tap Water’ Following Bucks County Chemical Spill, Officials Say – NBC 10 Philadelphia
- Philly Residents ‘May Not Wish to Drink or Cook With Tap Water’ Following Bucks County Chemical Spill, Officials Say NBC 10 Philadelphia
- Philly residents advised to drink bottled water Sunday afternoon following chemical spill, officials say The Philadelphia Inquirer
- No contaminants found in Philly water system following latex spill, officials report WHYY
- Coast Guard, government agencies respond to hazardous materials released in Bucks County, Pennsylvania by Trinseo PLC WPVI-TV
- Hazardous Material Spill In Otter Creek, Delaware River LevittownNow.com
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Harris Co. health officials lift shelter in place after chemical leak contained at warehouse on Colonial Parkway near I-10 in Katy – KTRK-TV
- Harris Co. health officials lift shelter in place after chemical leak contained at warehouse on Colonial Parkway near I-10 in Katy KTRK-TV
- West Harris County, Texas Hazmat situation: Leak at warehouse on Colonial Parkway KHOU 11
- Shelter-in-place order lifted in Harris County, Texas, after anhydrous ammonia leak CNN
- Shelter-in-place order lifted for certain areas of west Harris County after chemical leak detected inside warehouse, officials say KPRC Click2Houston
- Shelter-in-place lifted following chemical leak at west Harris County warehouse KHOU.com
Carus chemical explosion: La Salle, Illinois residents voice concerns after massive fire spews apparent chemicals in air
LA SALLE, Ill. (WLS) — There will be an update Thursday afternoon after a massive fire erupted at the Carus Chemical plant in La Salle Wednesday morning. Some neighbors have concerns.
The residential neighborhood around the plant appears to have been covered with chemicals.
Carus has set up a hotline for La Salle residents at (815) 224-6662.
A shelter-in-place was ordered for several hours as a precaution, but has since been lifted.
La Salle is about 94 miles southwest of Chicago.
Authorities give afternoon update on La Salle chemical plant fire
Residents are free to go about their normal business Thursday morning, heading to work, school or just going about their regular routine, as officials work to find out what happened.
Video of a fire ball during the incident has been widely shared on social media.
“I pull up to the stop sign, and hear a loud explosion,” witness Khaleef Hammad said.
Chopper 7HD flies above chemical fire
Hammad was just a block away from the plant when he captured the moment it caught fire.
“Oh it was loud. It was multiple explosions. Not just one, it was quite a few,” he said.
RELATED: ‘Get out of the building!’: Rockdale fire at trucking company captured on police bodycam video
The chemical plant manufactures potassium permanganate, which is non-combustible, but can accelerate the burning of explosive material once it catches fire.
Residents shared photos of a substance coating their homes, yards, decks and cars.
“When I hit the windshield wipers, it looked black to me, then it turned green and now it’s like a brown color. And it’s caustic. I know what it is; they know what it is,” said resident Jamie Hicks.
A viewer shared pictures of what she said the substance did to her yard furniture. It appears to show it rusted out with a hole eaten through the furniture — which she said has been since the fire.
As firefighters contained, then extinguished the chemical fire, a representative with Carus Chemical tried to reassure residents.
Massive fire erupts at LaSalle chemical plant
“Some of the material that was released during the incident is used to as a drinking water material,” said Carus Vice President Allen Gibbs. “If you come in contact with that material, it can cause staining on the skin. The stain does not pose a health threat.
Officials are warning residents to avoid green residue that has been seen in the area. The La Salle Police Department said an oxidizer, which appears green in color, has been released. Police said not to touch the substance, and that it can be deactivated.
“In order to deactivate it, you will need a 1:1:1 mixture of: 1 gallon of water, 1 gallon of peroxide, 1 gallon of vinegar,” police said.
A viewer shared pictures of what she says the green residue substance from the La Salle chemical plant fire did to her yard furniture.
As environmental workers monitor the air and water for any possible contamination, the mayor of La Salle is thankful, acknowledging it could have been worse.
“Thank God (it was a) situation where nobody (was) killed or seriously injured … miracle in itself,” Mayor Jeff Grove said.
RELATED: Morris fire: Industrial blaze prompts evacuations of 1K nearby homes
One firefighter was slightly injured at the scene of that massive blaze, which broke out about 9 a.m. at the plant, located at 1500 Eighth St.
Copyright © 2023 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Iranian national accused of planning chemical warfare in Germany
An Iranian national was arrested in his underwear Sunday after he was reportedly caught trying to deploy biological weapons in northwestern Germany.
The 32-year-old man had allegedly obtained cyanide and ricin in preparation for a “serious act of violence,” investigators said, according to German outlet Welt.
The Iranian and one other man, whose affiliation was not disclosed, were arrested by anti-terror investigators in the former’s Castrop-Rauxel living quarters around midnight.
Both were apprehended in their underpants — and jackets that had only been thrown on as authorities descended on the building, eyewitnesses told Welt.
Investigators wearing protective suits wheeled the toxins and other evidence out of the building in blue barrels and deposited them at a decontamination point set up by the fire department.
“The accused is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence that is dangerous to the state,” said the investigators. “The search serves to find the corresponding toxins and other evidence.”
Police have not disclosed the plans for the alleged attack, how far the plans had progressed or whether the men had chosen a target, but warned it may have been an Islamist assault.
Investigators had been trailing the men for several days, Welt reported.
Ricin is one of the most toxic biological agents known and can be used as an effective airborne weapon, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cyanide, fatal to humans in even the smallest amounts, are also listed on the federal agency’s bioterrorism chemicals page.
Officials are investigating the evidence further before formally filing charges, the outlet reported.
Kids’ Incredible Learning May All Be Down to 1 Chemical in The Brain : ScienceAlert
Compared to adults, kids learn fast, their developing brains sopping up information at a mind-boggling pace. Somehow their neurons not only incorporate new knowledge more easily, they hold onto it firmly, even in a constant torrent of new experiences.
Now, a team of neuroscientists from the University of Regensburg in Germany and Brown University in the US may have discovered what makes young brains so efficient.
It’s all down to a brain chemical known as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) which surges in children during and after learning, turning their young brains into ‘uber-sponges’.
“It’s often assumed that children learn more efficiently than adults, although the scientific support for this assumption has, at best, been weak,” says study co-author Takeo Watanabe, a cognitive psychologist from Brown University.
Searching for the brain mechanisms involved, the team used an advanced neuroimaging technique called functional MRS (fMRS) to indirectly measure concentrations of GABA in the visual cortex of kids during a visual learning activity to see how it differed from adults.
Measurements were taken in 55 children aged 8 to 11 years and 56 adults aged between 18 and 35 years of age, covering three different periods: before the visual learning task began, during the learning process, and after the activity had ended.
The results showed that GABA levels in adults remain consistent over the whole experiment. Meanwhile, the GABA levels in children were much more adventurous.
“What we found is a rapid increase in GABA in children, associated with learning,” says Watanabe. And not just during learning – the high levels of GABA lasted into the post-learning period too.
It’s a revelatory finding, Watanabe says.
GABA is a chemical messenger in the brain known to be important in the process of learning new information. It also plays a key role in stabilization, a ‘cooling-off period’ after learning whereby the fragile new neural networks are consolidated and the information successfully stored.
But if something new is learned during the cooling-off period, a phenomenon called ‘retrograde interference’ kicks in, where the previously learned information is overridden or destroyed – it slips out of our brains.
Think of it as like leaving a pie to cool off after it’s been taken from the oven. Resting it gives the starches in the filling a chance to set into a gel that will hold everything neatly in place. If you cut into the pie during cooling period, though, the piping hot filling is runny and spills out.
With the new knowledge of GABA levels in kids on board, the team then conducted behavioral experiments to see if this was what allowed visual learning to be stabilized more rapidly. What they found was astonishing.
Adults needed a ‘cooling off period’ of an hour to allow for stabilization. However, the children were able to learn again within 10 minutes without overriding what they had previously learnt. In other words, thanks to their lofty GABA levels, their pie sets a whole lot quicker.
“We found that resilience to retrograde interference and therefore stabilization indeed occurred within minutes after training ended in children, whereas learning was in a fragile state in adults for at least one hour after training,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
“This rapid stabilization of learning in children enables them to learn more items within a given period of time and makes learning more efficient in children than adults,” explains psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist Sebastian Frank, a co-author on the study now at the University of Regensburg in Germany.
The researchers also found consecutive sessions of learning seemed to further increase the GABA concentration in children, allowing even more rapid stabilization of previous learning.
“Our results therefore point to GABA as a key player in making learning efficient in children,” says Frank.
While it should be noted that this study was done in visual learning, Watanabe believes these findings could be generalized to other types of learning involving memory.
Excitingly, these findings could be used to help adults learn more efficiently.
“For example, a new technology or therapy could be developed to increase the amount of GABA in the brains of adults,” Watanabe says. “That is one possible application.”
This research was published in Current Biology.
Independent lab finds ‘troubling’ levels of cancer-causing chemical in more types of dry shampoo products, report alleges
CNN
—
High levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, have been detected in more brands and batches of dry shampoo products, according to a new report from Valisure, an independent laboratory.
Just last month, certain aerosol dry shampoos – including some Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI and TRESemmé products – were voluntarily recalled because of the potential presence of benzene.
Then on Monday, Valisure sent a citizen petition to the US Food and Drug Administration in which the lab described that among 148 batches from 34 different brands of dry shampoo products, 70% of samples tested showed “quantifiable” levels of benzene.
According to their report, 11 samples showed levels over 10 times more than 2 parts per million (ppm), the FDA limit for drugs.
“However, the dry shampoos tested are not drugs and contain no active pharmaceutical ingredient for therapeutic purpose; therefore, any significant detection of benzene could be deemed unacceptable. Furthermore, Valisure shows data from the analysis of benzene by directly sampling contaminated air after spraying dry shampoo products, which suggests potential for short- and long-term inhalation exposure to high levels of benzene. The presence of this known human carcinogen in dry shampoo products that are regularly used indoors and in large volumes makes this finding especially troubling,” David Light, Valisure’s chief executive officer, and Qian Wu, Valisure’s head of global analytics, wrote in the FDA Citizen Petition.
The petition urges the FDA to “expeditiously request recalls” on the affected batches of products containing benzene and better define limits for benzene contamination in other products.
The FDA normally takes 180 days to respond to a citizen petition.
In summary, three lots of dry shampoo products from one brand contained spray with more than 100 ppm of benzene, according to the petition, and some samples tested by Valisure showed more than 10 times the FDA drug limit. The petition also mentions that Valisure has detected benzene in other commonly used products as well, including certain hand sanitizers and sunscreens.
CNN contacted the brands listed in the petition and reached out to the FDA for comment but did not immediately hear back from all of them.
In a statement, Church & Dwight, the maker of Batiste hair products said: “Consumer safety is of the utmost importance. When propellants had been reported to be the source of benzene in competitors’ recalled products, we contacted our propellant suppliers and confirmed with those suppliers that the propellants used in our Batiste products do not contain benzene. We will evaluate the report at the center of the recent claims.”
Haircare brand Not Your Mother’s, listed in the petition, told CNN in a statement, “The safety of our consumers is our highest priority. We are concerned about a recently published report linked to the dry shampoo category, raising questions about levels of benzene detected in propellent used in aerosol products manufactured on or before Fall 2021. This report is inconsistent with the data provided by our suppliers and the rigorous ongoing testing to ensure the safety and integrity of our products. These tests show no traceable amounts of benzene. We are committed to continuous evaluation to ensure the utmost safety and quality of all our products.”
Valisure’s Light said in a new release, “The detection of high levels of benzene in dry shampoos should be cause for significant concern since these products are likely used indoors, where benzene may linger and be inhaled for prolonged periods of time.
“These and other issues identified by Valisure, including the detection of benzene in body spray, hand sanitizer, and sunscreen products, strongly underscore the importance of independent testing and its need to be better integrated into an increasingly complex and vulnerable global supply chain.”
Last year, several deodorants and sunscreen products were recalled due to detections of benzene.
Benzene is formed from both natural and man-made processes. “Natural sources of benzene include volcanoes and forest fires. Benzene is also a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The main way people are exposed is by breathing in air containing benzene,” according the American Cancer Society.
Dry shampoo recall list: Unilever recalls Dove, Bed Head, more hair care products over cancer-causing chemical benzene
Unilever voluntarily recalled products from brands such as TRESemme, Suave, Dove and more due to concerns about benzene.
Unilever recently announced a voluntary recall of 19 popular dry shampoo aerosol products sold in the United States due to concerns about benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer.
Exposure to benzene, which is classified as a human carcinogen, can occur through inhalation, ingestion, or through skin contact and can result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancers, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Humans are exposed to benzene daily through things like tobacco smoke and detergents, but exposure can be considered dangerous depending on the dose and duration of contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unilever said that it is pulling the products “out of an abundance of caution” and that the company has not yet received any reports of adverse event relating to the recall to date.
SEE ALSO: Hair-straightening chemicals may be linked to uterine cancer risk, study finds
The recalled products were produced before October 2021 and retailers have been notified to pull the affected products from shelves.
A complete list of the affected products and consumer codes can be found here. No other products from Unilever or its brands are impacted by this recall, the company stated in a press release.
The list of affected products include:
Dove
- Dove Dry Shampoo Volume and Fullness
- Dove Dry Shampoo Fresh Coconut
- Dove Dry Shampoo Fresh and Floral
- Dove Dry Shampoo Ultra Clean
- Dove Dry Shampoo Invisible
- Dove Dry Shampoo Detox and Purify
- Dove Dry Shampoo Clarifying Charcoal
- Dove Dry Shampoo Go Active
Nexxus
- Nexxus Dry Shampoo Refreshing Mist
- Nexxus Inergy Foam Shampoo
Suave
- Suave Dry Shampoo Hair Refresher
- Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Refresh and Revive
TRESemmé
- TRESemmé Dry Shampoo Volumizing
- TRESemmé Dry Shampoo Fresh and Clean
- TRESemmé Pro Pure Dry Shampoo
Bed Head
- Bed Head Oh Bee Hive Dry Shampoo
- Bed Head Oh Bee Hive Volumizing Dry Shampoo
- Bed Head Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo
Rockaholic
- Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo
The recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Unilever urged consumers to stop using the affected aerosol dry shampoo products immediately and visit the company website for eligible product reimbursements.
Copyright © 2022 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Dry shampoo recall list: Unilever recalls Dove, Bed Head, more hair care products over cancer-causing chemical benzene
Unilever voluntarily recalled products from brands such as TRESemme, Suave, Dove and more due to concerns about benzene.
Unilever recently announced a voluntary recall of 19 popular dry shampoo aerosol products sold in the United States due to concerns about benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer.
Exposure to benzene, which is classified as a human carcinogen, can occur through inhalation, ingestion, or through skin contact and can result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancers, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Humans are exposed to benzene daily through things like tobacco smoke and detergents, but exposure can be considered dangerous depending on the dose and duration of contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unilever said that it is pulling the products “out of an abundance of caution” and that the company has not yet received any reports of adverse event relating to the recall to date.
SEE ALSO: Hair-straightening chemicals may be linked to uterine cancer risk, study finds
The recalled products were produced before October 2021 and retailers have been notified to pull the affected products from shelves.
A complete list of the affected products and consumer codes can be found here. No other products from Unilever or its brands are impacted by this recall, the company stated in a press release.
The list of affected products include:
Dove
- Dove Dry Shampoo Volume and Fullness
- Dove Dry Shampoo Fresh Coconut
- Dove Dry Shampoo Fresh and Floral
- Dove Dry Shampoo Ultra Clean
- Dove Dry Shampoo Invisible
- Dove Dry Shampoo Detox and Purify
- Dove Dry Shampoo Clarifying Charcoal
- Dove Dry Shampoo Go Active
Nexxus
- Nexxus Dry Shampoo Refreshing Mist
- Nexxus Inergy Foam Shampoo
Suave
- Suave Dry Shampoo Hair Refresher
- Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Refresh and Revive
TRESemmé
- TRESemmé Dry Shampoo Volumizing
- TRESemmé Dry Shampoo Fresh and Clean
- TRESemmé Pro Pure Dry Shampoo
Bed Head
- Bed Head Oh Bee Hive Dry Shampoo
- Bed Head Oh Bee Hive Volumizing Dry Shampoo
- Bed Head Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo
Rockaholic
- Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo
The recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Unilever urged consumers to stop using the affected aerosol dry shampoo products immediately and visit the company website for eligible product reimbursements.
Copyright © 2022 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Chemical clues to the mystery of what’s coating Stradivari’s violins
Analytical Chemistry (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02965″ width=”800″ height=”530″/>
A highly precise, nanometer-scale imaging technique revealed a protein-based layer between the wood and the varnish coating of these two Stradivarius violins. Credit: Adapted from Analytical Chemistry (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02965
Stradivarius violins produce elegant music with a level of clarity that is unparalleled by modern instruments, according to some musicians. And it’s the finishing touches—mysterious treatments applied hundreds of years ago by Antonio Stradivari—that contribute to their unique look and sound. In a step toward unraveling the secret, researchers in Analytical Chemistry report on a nanometer-scale imaging of two of Stradivari’s violins, revealing a protein-based layer between the wood and varnish.
Previous studies have reported that some stringed instruments crafted by Stradivari have a hidden coating underneath the shiny varnish. This coating’s purpose would have been to fill in and smooth out the wood, influencing the wood’s resonance and the sound that’s produced. Knowing the components of this film could be key to replicating the historic instruments in modern times.
So, Lisa Vaccari, Marco Malagodi and colleagues wanted to find a technique that would determine the composition of the layer between the wood and varnish of two precious violins—the San Lorenzo 1718 and the Toscano 1690.
Using a technique previously used on historic violins, synchrotron radiation Fourier-transform infrared spectromicroscopy, the team found that both samples had an intermediary layer, but this method couldn’t differentiate the layer’s composition from the adjacent wood. Then they turned to infrared scattering-type scanning near field microscopy (IR s-SNOM) to analyze the samples.
The IR s-SNOM apparatus includes a microscope that collects images tens of nanometers wide and measures the infrared light scattered from the coating layer and the wood to collect information about their chemical composition. The results of the new method showed that the layer between the wood and varnish of both instruments contained protein-based compounds, congregating in nano-sized patches.
Because IR s-SNOM provided a detailed 3D picture of the types of substances on the violin’s surface, the researchers say that it could be used in future studies to identify compounds in complex multi-layer cultural heritage samples.
Varnish not only protects a violin, it also influences the instrument’s sound
More information:
Chiaramaria Stani et al, A Nanofocused Light on Stradivari Violins: Infrared s-SNOM Reveals New Clues Behind Craftsmanship Mastery, Analytical Chemistry (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02965
Chiaramaria Stani et al, A Nanofocused Light on Stradivari Violins: Infrared s-SNOM Reveals New Clues Behind Craftsmanship Mastery, Analytical Chemistry (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02965
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