Felony Charges Sought in UCLA Lab Assistant Death

Jan 26, 2012 1:33 PM, By Laura Walter 

From http://ehstoday.com/

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has filed felony charges against the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and chemistry professor Dr. Patrick Harran in connection to the January 2009 death of a university lab research associate. 

On Dec. 29, 2008, 23-year-old Sheri Sangji sustained fatal second- and third-degree burns while working a lab research associate at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). According to a 2009 Cal/OSHA report, Sangji was working to transfer a t-Butyllithium, a highly reactive liquid reagent, when her syringe plunger became separated from the barrel. The reacting chemical spilled onto Sangji and caught fire, leaving her with burns over 43 percent of body. She died 18 days later.   (More...)

Dorm fire: Drake Hall, UW-La Crosse

Early Sunday morning a fire broke out in a basement lounge of Drake Hall at UW-La Crosse. Building residents were roused by the fire alarm, and all residents were successfully evacuated. Residents have been temporarily relocated until Drake Hall has been deemed safe for habitation.

News from the campus

News from the local paper

Supreme Court Will Hear RCRA Case

The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear a case in which Southern Union, a Texas-based natural gas distributor, was convicted in a U.S. District Court of criminally violating RCRA by knowingly storing 140 pounds of waste mercury without a RCRA permit for over two years in a dilapidated facility in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. While the case is based in an alleged RCRA violation, the Supreme Court is primarily interested in how a lower court ruling that defends the authority of a judge, rather than a jury, to determine the number of days the company was in violation comports with case law.

The case involves two legal arguments. First, whether U.S. EPA had the authority to enforce a Rhode Island regulation that requires that conditionally exempt small quality generators (CESQG) obtain hazardous waste permits. Rhode Island is authorized by EPA to run its own hazardous waste regulatory program. Under RCRA, Rhode Island may also issue regulations that are more stringent than the federal baseline program, which it did with the CESQG permitting requirement. Southern Union asserted that EPA was not legally empowered to enforce Rhode Island’s CESQG provision because it is not part of a federally enforceable state plan. The company also argued that EPA has been “irrationally” inconsistent in its prior pronouncements of EPA's position on the regulation of CESQGs and on which state regulations will receive federal authorization. (More....)

Integrating safety into green building design

UW-Milwaukee Cambridge Commons green roof

Green buildings are intended to do good – conserve energy, protect the environment and improve the health of occupants. But some green systems are putting people who install and maintain them in harm's way. A researcher at University of Massachusetts – Lowell found an increased risk of occupational safety and health hazards for five common green building features – geothermal wells, green roofs, rainwater harvesting systems, energy recovery wheels and natural light percolating systems. The research also offered ways for architects to integrate safety into green building features. Read more...

http://www.uml.edu/News/stories/2011-12/Mohomed-Work-Environment.aspx

Students injured in flash fire at Minnesota school science lab

Published December 02, 2011, 06:48 AM

By: Mary Lynn Smith and Abby Simons, Minneapolis Star Tribune / MCT

Dane Neuberger was front and center when the classroom science experiment blew up, setting his face on fire.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (MCT) — Dane Neuberger was front and center when the classroom science experiment blew up, setting his face on fire.

"I was on fire," said 15-year-old Neuberger, who is being treated at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis for second-degree burns to his face, neck and right hand. "People were screaming, and everyone just ran out."

Three other students treated for burns at the hospital were released. (More....)

Hazmat response to nitric acid spill

A spilled container of nitric acid forced the evacuation of a University of Arizona laboratory building on Monday.

No one was hurt in the incident, which occurred in UA's Shantz building.

The spill occurred when a glass container filled with between 500 and 1000 ml of nitric acid dropped and broke. According to the Tucson Fire Department, someone tried to neutralize the spill with sodium bicarbonate, causing an exothermic reaction that melted the copper piping on compressed air containers in the lab.

An adjacent street was closed while the fire department and a hazardous materials control team responded to the incident.

http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/index.php/article/2011/10/nitric_acid_spill_forces_evacuation_of_shantz

COMM rules to get new titles

The administrative codes previously administered by the Department of Commerce are being re-titled to reflect the move to the Department of Safety and Professional Services. "Comm" codes will be "SPS" codes as of January 1, 2012. According to DSPS, the current code numbers will be bumped up by adding 300 to the existing number. For example, the current Comm 81 will change to SPS 381, and Comm 5 to SPS 305.