MEC&F Expert Engineers : 10/23/16

Sunday, October 23, 2016

$300,000 in damages after natural gas explosion destroys home under construction in Noblesville, IN




(Photo: Provided/Noblesville Fire Department)


 Noblesville home destroyed by natural gas explosion
Kaitlin L Lange , IndyStar 


2:46 p.m. EDT October 23, 2016

A natural gas explosion Sunday afternoon left a Noblesville home structurally unsafe to enter.

Around noon, the Noblesville Fire Department responded to calls for a possible residential structure collapse in the 11900 block of Whispers Ridge Drive. Neighbors nearby heard a large explosion that shook their homes, according to a Noblesville Fire Department press release.

The home was under construction at the time of the explosion and no one was injured. The Noblesville Fire Department said the house is a total loss of an estimated $300,000.

All utilities were immediately shut off.

MORE CARNAGE ON THE DEADLY U.S. ROADS: At least 13 killed, 21 injured after a USA Holiday bus crashes into a semi-truck on I-10 highway in Southern California early Sunday








DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — A tour bus and a semi-truck crashed on a highway in Southern California early Sunday, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 30 others, some critically, the California Highway Patrol said.

CHP Officer Stephanie Hamilton confirmed the deaths to the Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs (http://desert.sn/2ekf1LI ) as of 7:30 a.m. Firefighters also removed additional bodies, using ladders to climb into the bus' windows, the newspaper reported.

Photos show the front of the passenger bus crumpled entirely into the semi-truck's trailer after the wreck on Interstate 10 in Desert Hot Springs, near the desert resort town of Palm Springs. Responders used tow trucks to lift the trailer to provide easier access to the bus, whose front end was demolished.

At least 30 victims have been taken to hospitals. Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs received 14 patients: five in critical condition, three in serious condition and six with minor injuries, hospital marketing director Rich Ramhoff said.

Eleven people with minor injuries were sent to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, spokesperson Lee Rice said. JFK Memorial Medical Center in Indio received five patients, all with minor injuries, chief development officer Linda Evans said.

The cause of the crash is not yet known. The bus may have been coming from Red Earth Casino, near the Salton Sea, the CHP said. Hamilton said the driver was one of the owners of the tour bus company, Los Angeles-based USA Holiday.

The company has one vehicle and one driver, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Records on the agency's website show it had no crashes and one inspection in the two years before Oct. 22 and had a satisfactory safety rating.

A phone and Facebook message left for the company was not immediately returned. Its Facebook page has postings about trips leaving the Los Angeles area to casinos around the Coachella Valley and Las Vegas.

The CHP says all westbound lanes of the highway were closed and traffic was being diverted.




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At least 13 people reported dead in California tour bus, semi-truck crash

Published October 23, 2016
FoxNews.com
 




Tour bus and semi-truck collide in California

At least 13 people are dead and several more were rushed to local hospitals after a tour bus collided with a semi-truck early Sunday morning in California, Fox News confirmed.

The crash occurred around 5 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway at Indian Canyon in the Desert Hot Springs area. The big rig driver was unhurt, according to The Desert Sun.

“At this time, we know that there are multiple fatalities. We can’t give an amount because that number is going to change,” California Highway Patrol Officer Stephanie Hamilton said “There are approximately 31 passengers on the bus that were transported [to local hospitals] with minor to serious injuries."

The tour bus was identified as a USA Holiday bus. The Los Angeles-based company typically ferries people from LA to Southern California casinos, The Desert Sun reported.


Authorities shut down the freeway in the aftermath of the incident. Details on a possible cause of the crash were unclear.

Photos show the front of the passenger bus pushed into the semi-truck's trailer.

"The intrusion into the bus compartment is significant," Hamilton said.

Firefighters were using ladders placed near the bus' windows to pull out victims. It took nearly two hours to separate the vehicles, Fox News reported.

The Palm Springs hospital treated 14 patients, five in critical condition, three in serious condition and six with minor injuries. Palm Springs houses the valley's only trauma center, The Desert Sun Reported. All patients were adults.

Desert Regional director of marketing Rich Ramhoff said it was the most victims he'd seen from a single incident.

Eleven people with minor injuries were sent to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, spokesperson Lee Rice said. JFK Medical Center received five patients, all with minor injuries, chief development officer Linda Evans said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Dust-collection equipment caught fire at Carus Chemical in La Salle, Illinois






OCTOBER 21, 2016

La Salle, IL

Fire started in a piece of dust-collection equipment in one the two main chemical-process buildings at Carus Chemical in La Salle at about 4:40 p.m. Friday.

The fire went out on its own and firefighters did not have to use any water, said Kegan Pakula, spokesperson for Carus Corp.

“There was a small fire in our pilot plant. The fire is out. Everyone is safe and accounted for,” Pakula said.

She said at 5:20 p.m. firefighters still were monitoring for hot spots.

La Salle and Peru firefighters responded, and Utica firefighters manned the La Salle fire station.

Damage to the piece of equipment is being assessed.

The process in the building will not be restarted until everything is checked and OK.

Worker at Chemtrade Logistics in Alabama was burned by flash explosion and fire during welding




Man seriously injured in flash fire at Cedar Lake Road industry

By Calvin Cooley For The Decatur Daily
Updated Oct 22, 2016

An unidentified man was transported by helicopter ambulance to Birmingham following a flash fire Friday morning at ChemTrade Logistics Inc. in Southeast Decatur.


Decatur Fire Chief Tony Grande said vapor trails ignited the flash inside the facility, which is located at 1008 Cedar Lake Road S.E. near Central Baptist Church.


"This was not a chemical or hazardous materials event," he said. "We responded and treated burns to the victim upon arrival. He was then sent to Birmingham to continue to receive treatment."


Morgan County 911 received a call from ChemTrade at 10:59 a.m. reporting a loud boom and calls of a man being down inside the facility, Morgan County 911 Director Ryan Welty said. Decatur police, Decatur Fire and Rescue and ambulances responded to the call.


The boom was heard blocks away.


"It sounded like thunder," said Debbie Bell, who was inside Central Baptist Church at the time. "We couldn't see anything from where we were, but we heard it. There were a lot of police and emergency vehicles outside right after it happened. We stepped outside for a few minutes and saw someone get sent away in the helicopter."


AirEvac 15 out of Vinemont responded to the scene. The severity of the victim's burns was not immediately known.


ChemTrade's chief financial officer, Rohit Bhardwaj, said the company was monitoring the situation but could provide more details of what happened inside the facility.


"All we can say at this point is that a maintenance employee was injured while working," he said. "We have a member of management on the way to the hospital so we can stay updated on the employee's status. Our primary focus is doing what is best for the employee and the employee's family while we work to figure out what exactly took place."


According to its website, ChemTrade Logistics, based in Toronto, is one of North America's largest suppliers of sulfuric acid, spent acid processing services, inorganic coagulants for water treatment, liquid sulfur dioxide, sodium nitrite, sodium hydrosulfite and phosphorus pentasulfide.




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Decatur plant worker treated for burns

Rachel Keith Will Robinson-Smith
Updated Oct 21, 2016
DECATUR, ALABAMA


A Decatur, AL plant worker is being treated for burns after a possible flash fire at Chemtrade Logistics.

Stacy Rose with Decatur Fire and Rescue said they received the call about an explosion at Chemtrade Logistics off Cedar Lake Road around 11:00 a.m. Friday morning.

Rose said a man was working at the chemical plant and received burns. He was flown to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital for treatment.

According to Chemtrade CFO Rohit Bhardwaj, the injured employee has been working in maintenance for about two years. He said the employee was performing maintenance on the outside of one of their reactors when the flash fire occurred.

Bhardwaj said no one else was hurt and that there will be an internal investigation into the cause of the flash fire.

The plant mostly produces chemicals that are used in water treatment, according to Bhardwaj.

Decatur police said no chemicals were involved in the accident.

 
Corporate Profile

Chemtrade operates a diversified business providing industrial chemicals and services to customers in North America and around the world. Chemtrade is one of North America’s largest suppliers of sulfuric acid, spent acid processing services, inorganic coagulants for water treatment, liquid sulfur dioxide, sodium nitrite, sodium hydrosulfite and phosphorus pentasulfide. Chemtrade is a leading regional supplier of sulfur, sodium chlorate, potassium chloride, and zinc oxide. Chemtrade obtains these products from its own production facilities and through long-term marketing services agreements and distributes them to customers around the world. Additionally, Chemtrade provides industrial services such as processing by-products and waste streams.



Products
Chemtrade’s products are sourced through its own production facilities or procured via long-term marketing services and tolling arrangements with industrial producers and other chemical producers. The industrial producers include base metal smelting and oil refinery operations that generate sulphuric acid, spent acid, liquid SO2 and sulphur as by-products of their production processes.  This sourcing model, combined with Chemtrade owned / controlled storage terminals, by-product chemical internal demand, and on-purpose supply from its own production facilities provides more security of supply for customers, and results in lower costs and capital requirements for Chemtrade.
Chemtrade owns a total of 62 production facilities in North America that can be broadly classified as either:
  1. sulphuric acid / regen acid / ultrapure acid / sodium bisulphite / liquid SO2 plants;
  2. inorganic coagulants plants;
  3. liquid SHS / zinc oxide plants;
  4. individual specialty chemical plants for the production of:
    1. phosphorus pentasulphide;
    2. potassium chloride;
    3. sodium chlorate / crude tall oil;
    4. sodium nitrite; and
    5. vaccine adjuvants; or
  5. plants providing customers with specialized services for:
    1. ammonia scrubber effluent processing;
    2. hydrogen sulphide processing;
    3. sulphur prilling; and
    4. ultra pure chemical production
In North America, Chemtrade operates and sells its products in virtually every part of the continent, utilizing its extensive sales force in conjunction with its network of distributors to access customers in all industries.  Customers are encouraged to contact Chemtrade for their product supply needs by contacting the email address noted in the specific product sections in the Products & Services tab of this website.
Internationally, all product is sourced through marketing arrangements.