CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF EXPLOSION AND SUBSEQUENT FIRE IN BOERNE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT LEVELED HOMES AND INJURED 1 PERSON IS ON GOING, BUT MOST LIKELY IT WAS CAUSED BY A BROKEN NATURAL GAS LINE

 A home in Boerne was destroyed in an explosion and resulting fire Tuesday afternoon. Two other homes were also significantly damaged.

CAUSE AND ORIGIN OF EXPLOSION AND SUBSEQUENT FIRE IN BOERNE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT LEVELED HOMES AND INJURED 1 PERSON IS ON GOING, BUT IT WAS MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY A BROKEN NATURAL GAS LINE

February 11, 2015

BOERNE, TEXAS

A large explosion in a Boerne neighborhood sparked a multi-home fire in the San Antonio suburb Tuesday.

Emergency crews responded to the blaze in the 200 block of Horse Hill in the Herff Ranch subdivision, where the fire happened just before noon.

At least one man was injured and transported by helicopter to an area hospital. Officials said 80 percent of the man's body was burned and his current condition is unknown. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The neighborhood is located a few blocks away from Cibolo Creek Elementary School, which was temporarily placed on lockdown while emergency crews battled the fire.

Investigators are still working to determine what caused an explosion in a Boerne neighborhood Tuesday that decimated a home and left a man with serious burns to 80 percent of his body.

The explosion happened around noon at a home in the 200 block of Horse Hill in the Herff Ranch subdivision, officials said.

The injured man, identified as 45-year-old Scott Kenney, was inside the house at the time of the explosion along with his dog.

Shortly after the blast, Kenney was flown to San Antonio Military Medical Center with significant burns.

 

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 Neighbor alerts homeowner before natural gas explosion about a hissing natural gas sound, but it was too late

BOERNE, TEXAS:

Moments before an explosion ripped through 45-year-old Scott Kenney's two-story house Tuesday, a neighbor heard a hissing noise outside the home and told him to get out.

"As Mr. Kenney was preparing to come out of the house and leave the home, he just didn't make it. The explosion occurred," said Pamela Bransford, spokeswoman for the city of Boerne.

She said Kenney, a local car salesman, was alone at the time of the midday blast. His three children were at school and his wife, a teacher, was at work.
At last word, the badly-burned Kenney remains in intensive care at the San Antonio Military Medical Center.

However, a family spokesman said Kenney is "much better than feared."
He said the family is now talking about "recovery and rehabilitation."

At a midafternoon briefing Wednesday, Bransford said investigators want to know why a house built in 2008 would have had a gas leak.

The state fire marshal's office, the lead agency handling the investigation, spent the day clearing debris to look for clues to the explosion that destroyed the Kenney's family $200,000 home and severely damaged two houses on either side.

Bransford said this was the city of Boerne's first natural gas explosion "and hopefully the last."

She said as a precaution, the city has posted information on its Facebook page with advice on what to do if someone suspects a gas leak.

As for other houses along Horse Hill, Bransford said, "Our crews went in, individually lit their pilot lights once the gas was activated, so we know all those houses are safe."

She said since city crews do not check lines beyond the gas meter, she advised calling a plumber or an AC/heating contractor.

DID YOU EAT YOUR HEAVY METALS.... SORRY... YOUR CHOCOLATE TODAY? WARNING: CHOCOLATE MAY CONTAIN HEAVY METALS.

 

 DID YOU EAT YOUR HEAVY METALS.... SORRY... YOUR CHOCOLATE TODAY?  

WARNING: CHOCOLATE MAY CONTAIN HEAVY METALS.

Two new pieces of chocolate news may have us reaching for candy hearts instead this Valentine’s Day.

Allergic to milk, or know someone who is? A recent study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  found that 59 percent of dark chocolate products in the U.S. contain trace amounts of milk. 

And, you can’t always tell that’s the case simply by reading the food label.

“This can be a problem, since even one small bite of a product containing milk can cause a dangerous reaction in some individuals,” researcher Binaifer Bedford, M.S., an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow, said in an FDA statement.

Dark chocolate has long been heralded as a lactose-free way to enjoy delicious chocolate flavor sans milk. But the FDA test of more than 100 dark chocolate bars revealed that many of them contained undeclared milk. While it’s probably not on purpose, this contamination could happen when a dark chocolate product shares equipment with a milk or white chocolate product. 

Milk is a major food allergen (one of the top eight in America) and U.S. law requires foods that contain it to name it on the label. 

While dark chocolate bars labeled “dairy-free” or “allergen-free” were the least likely to contain milk, 2 out of 17 of these products were found to contain milk. Fifty five or 93 bars without any clear indication of the presence of milk also were found to contain milk — that’s 59 percent. And 6 out of the 11 chocolate products labeled “traces of milk” contained milk at detectable levels high enough to potentially cause severe reactions in some individuals. 

“First of all, milk-allergic consumers should be aware that a high proportion of the dark chocolates we tested contained milk, even when the label failed to list milk as an ingredient,” Bedford says. 

If you’re allergic to milk, be wary of dark chocolate. 

“And because consumers can’t be sure that a statement about milk is completely accurate, they may want to contact the manufacturer to find out how it controls for allergens such as milk during production,” says Bedford. Information about the manufacturer, packer, or distributor is required to appear on the label of packaged foods.

In other chocolate (bad) news, some popular chocolate brands may toxic.

Consumer health watchdog As You Sow filed notices of legal action on Wednesday against Hershey’s, See’s Candies, and Mars, alleging violation of California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act for failure to warn consumers of the toxic chemical cadmium in the companies’ chocolate products.

Chronic exposure to cadmium has been linked to kidney, liver, and bone damage in humans — and kids are especially susceptible.

The organization previously initiated legal action against an additional 13 chocolate manufacturers, including Godiva, Ghirardelli, Lindt, Green and Black’s, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Earth Circle Organics, Moonstruck, Theo, and Vosges, for failure to warn of lead and/or cadmium in their chocolate products.  Lead exposure has been a significant public health issue for decades and is associated with neurological impairment, such as learning disabilities and lower IQ, even at low levels.

"Consumers need to know that chocolate may contain heavy metals," said Eleanne van Vliet, MPH, As You Sow’s toxic chemical research director. “Since lead and cadmium accumulate in the body over time, even small amounts should be avoided.”  

AUTOPSY FINDS TEXAS MAN DIED AFTER MINOR CRASH WHEN AIR BAG INFLATOR COMPONENT LODGED IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF HIS NECK NEAR HIS SHOULDER. TANAKA SENDS ITS CONDOLENCES TO THE VICTIM’S FAMILIES. THEY ARE IN SOME VERY DEEP TROUBLE.

AUTOPSY FINDS TEXAS MAN DIED AFTER MINOR CRASH WHEN AIR BAG INFLATOR COMPONENT LODGED IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF HIS NECK NEAR HIS SHOULDER.  TANAKA SENDS ITS CONDOLENCES TO THE VICTIM’S FAMILIES.  THEY ARE IN SOME VERY DEEP TROUBLE.

February 10, 2015

HOUSTON, TEXAS:

An autopsy has found that a metal disc from a defective air bag sliced into a Texas man's neck and killed him after a low-speed car accident last month near Houston.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences concluded that Carlos Solis had suffered no other serious injuries, and his death was accidental. The report, which became public late last week, listed the cause of death as blunt-force injuries to the neck.

Solis, 35, a father of two, died Jan. 18 in the Houston suburb of Spring. His 2002 Honda Accord had a driver's air bag made by Takata Corp. of Japan. Those can inflate with too much force, causing them to blow apart a metal inflator canister and send shrapnel into the passenger compartment.

Solis is among six people killed and 64 injured by the inflator mechanisms, which have caused the recalls of 19 million vehicles worldwide and touched off investigations by the U.S. Justice Department and safety regulators.

Takata offered condolences to Solis' family and said it's committed to working with the U.S. government and automakers to “take all actions needed to promote public safety.'' Honda didn't immediately respond to a message left Monday, but previously offered condolences.

The white metal disc was 2 3/4 inches in diameter and weighed about 13 ounces, according to the report. It caused a gaping cut in Solis' neck that severed an artery and vein. “Appearance consisted of a slightly distorted air bag inflator component,'' the report stated. The disc lodged in the right side of Solis' neck near his shoulder, according to the report.

Pictures of the crash showed that it did little damage to the left front bumper, fender and hood of Solis' car.

Solis bought the car in April from an independent dealer in the Houston area. It was part of 2011 recall to fix a defective driver's air bag inflator, but neither the dealer nor two previous owners had the recall repairs done. Honda has said it mailed recall notification letters to a previous owner of the Accord starting in 2011, but it had not yet sent a letter to Solis. The company urged anyone with a vehicle recalled for air bag problems to take the cars to dealers as soon as possible.

Solis' family is suing Honda, Takata and the dealer who sold Solis the car.

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2^ND DRIVER KILLED IN HOUSTON CRASH IN HONDA WITH TAKATA AIR BAGS

January 30, 2015

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said on Thursday that a driver was killed last week in a Houston suburb in a 2002 Accord equipped with a Takata Corp air bag that may have ruptured.

The Harris County Sheriff is investigating the crash, which occurred Jan. 18 in Spring, Texas, north of Houston, and identified the driver as 35-year-old Carlos Solis. According to the county medical examiner's preliminary report, Solis died of "blunt force injuries to the neck."

The Japanese auto parts supplier is one of the world's largest manufacturers of air bags. Since 2008, defective Takata air bags have been linked to at least five deaths, dozens of injuries and the recall of more than 24 million cars worldwide.

The car driven by Solis was included in a 2011 safety recall, but the "recall repair was never completed," Honda said, adding it has not been able to examine the car or its components to determine whether the air bag inflator ruptured.

The automaker said it has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the crash.

Asked for comment, Takata late Thursday said, "We are working in close collaboration with Honda to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the vehicle's status at the time of the incident. Takata's number one priority is the safety of the driving public."

Takata's handling of air bag defects and recalls is being investigated by NHTSA and the U.S. Department of Justice. The company also faces a number of civil lawsuits. (Reporting by Paul Lienert and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli, Alan Crosby and Andrew Hay)

DEADLY EXPLOSION ON BRAZIL OIL SHIP LEASED BY PETROBRAS; LABOR UNION SAYS 3 DEATHS and AT LEAST 6 MISSING

 

DEADLY EXPLOSION ON BRAZIL OIL SHIP LEASED BY PETROBRAS; LABOR UNION SAYS 3 DEATHS and AT LEAST 6 MISSING

February 11, 2015

RIO DE JANEIRO — An explosion on a ship leased by state-run oil company Petrobras left three workers dead and another six missing on Wednesday, according to Brazil's biggest oil industry union.

The Health Ministry for the state of Espirito Santo, where the explosion took place, said in an emailed statement that so far 10 workers have been treated for injuries — two for "grave burns" and another eight for "trauma."

The Unified Oilworkers Federation said in a statement on its website that the blast was caused by a gas leak in the engine room of the vessel, one of the many floating oil production, storage and offloading units that Petrobras employs in developing Brazil's massive offshore oil fields.

The union said the other 32 workers were safely evacuated off the ship onto a smaller vessel, and that a fire on the Petrobras ship is under control and "there are no risks of more explosions." It was not clear what the overall condition of the vessel was.

The government of Espirito Santo state confirmed there was an explosion on the Cidade de Sao Mateus ship, located about 370 miles (600 kilometers) northeast of Rio de Janeiro, but couldn't confirm the numbers killed, missing or injured.

The accident comes amid a crisis for Petrobras, as federal investigators continue to probe a massive kickback scheme allegedly operated by former executives of the oil company, which saw them receiving hundreds of millions in bribes from construction and engineering firms in exchange for giving those companies inflated contracts.

Petrobras didn't respond to telephone and email requests for comment.

The ship was leased by Petrobras starting in 2009 from Norway-based BW Offshore, according to the Norwegian firm's website, with a contract running at least to 2018.