A dropped container of nicotine sulfate brought Emporia firefighters to the science building at Emporia State University Friday evening.
Battalion Chief Bill West said that the spill was continued to a chemical room in the building and did not pose threats from fumes or fires.
"It's more of an absorption, skin contact, hazard," West said.
A Kansas City hazardous-materials company was summoned to clean up the spill.
The call came in about 4:19 p.m. on Friday. The local department left the scene slightly more than an hour later, according to the fire department log.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
GoldCoins (anonymous) says...
Thanks to this firefighters for cleaning the area.
Regards,
http://www.goldcoinsgain.com
October 17, 2009 at 9:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pizza (anonymous) says...
Talk about overkill and all blown out of proportion. Geez. What did the KC crew cost? I agree with the kitty litter.
October 17, 2009 at 10:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
not quite that easy...
October 17, 2009 at 10:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I can't speak to the danger of nicotine sulphate......although based on what I see here it must not be extremely dangerous. We blame all kinds of things for cost being so high but herein lies part of the problem. Bringing in a Hazmat team from KC cost a lot of money to do a job where it appears reasonable precaution would have been sufficient. If I am perceiving the danger from nicotine sulphate to lightly please let me know.
I know it cost us over eight thousand dollars to have a crime scene Haz-Mat team brought in for residue from a decomposed body....and the whole job only took them about twenty minutes with their boots on the ground. That's four hundred dollars a minute folks.
October 18, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoehorn (anonymous) says...
Because we, as a nation, have arrived at this place in time where we love to sue everybody, so you had better cover your a$$.
October 18, 2009 at 2:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Probably the one single place we could reduce overblown cost more than any other single thing would be tort reform. Now for all you conserve's out their that always think of me as being far...far....far...left.....how's that for being a real independent.
October 18, 2009 at 4:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
October 18, 2009 at 5:09 p.m. ( permalink )
emporian (anonymous) says...
Reportable quantity has to do with reporting it to the KDHE and EPA. For example if you spill 55 gallons of diesel then you must notify the KDHE about the release.
October 18, 2009 at 6:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoehorn (anonymous) says...
Does anyone know what policies and procedures the college has in place? After "the idiot" cleaned it up, what were they supposed to do with it?
October 18, 2009 at 8:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...
I roll tiny cigarettes and give them out to young bugs around my garden. Pretty soon they are hooked. The other bugs don't like it so they go to another garden without smoking bugs. Bugs are smart that way. If they don't like something they stay away from it. We can learn a lot from nature. We can also teach nature a thing or two. Like teaching bugs how to smoke.
R.
October 18, 2009 at 8:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoehorn (anonymous) says...
Ah... if it was only a bugs life. Here in the people world the smokers are the ones that have to leave.
October 18, 2009 at 9 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fotoman13 (anonymous) says...
UH OH!!!!...... I vote we put a "no smoking" policy into effect for seriouslyfolks's garden. I just cant stand knowing that there is smoking going on there.... LOL
October 18, 2009 at 9:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shoehorn (anonymous) says...
Is it possible that they did exactly what the policies and procedures told them to do?
October 19, 2009 at 6:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
fotoman13...Yes....and all those innocent non-smoking bugs being exposed to that evil SHS and actually then having to go someplace else rather than chose to stay there and be subjected to it..... Oh the evil of it all!!!!!!
October 19, 2009 at 7:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
You add some Mr. Clean, get a mop, and geturdone.
Then you request a job and pay raise from custodian to Haz-mat technician.
October 19, 2009 at 9:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
shoehorn,
I agree. Suppose some custodian took the liberty to clean it up and ended up just spreading it around and ultimately harming someone. If that happened, people would be in an uproar about how it wasn't properly handled and the custodian would probably be fired. These policies are in place for a reason.
People are either mad for wasting money or when somebody gets hurt; either way, you can’t please everyone. I say it’s better to “waste” a little money and make sure nobody gets hurt.
'enry
October 19, 2009 at 10:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Nobody (anonymous) says...
'enry, the last post is the most sensible thing I've ever seen you write. Good job!
October 19, 2009 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
I'm wondering why EFD didn't clean it up. How much have they spent in HazMat training in the past, say 2 years. Surely with their training, they could look up the MSDS and determine they were qualified to handle it. If they determine they are not qualified, I think some people are overpaid for the training they get but choose not to use. Leading to my feeling that the EFD and EPD have let their "hero" classification go to their heads.
October 19, 2009 at 11:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Actually,I think "enry pretty much got it right. But the reason we see so much of this comes right back to lawsuit avoidance.
October 19, 2009 at 12:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b3bill (anonymous) says...
I wonder what kind of magic potion some mad professor was brewing up on a Friday evening, handling the nicotine sulfate? Something that would have gone "poof!"? lol
October 19, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
I'm guessing a spontaneous game of "chemistry tag" broke-out towards the end of the day. This used to happen all the time in my day. It's very similar to dodge ball, but you used beakers of various chemicals instead of balls. There aren't many rules, however. In fact, it resembles a food fight more than a game of dodge ball. Unfortunately, it sounds like they got a little carried away this time... All these “haz-mat” policies and regulations could very well bring an end to "chemistry tag" as we know it.
Too bad. I have fond memories of the fancy-free days participating in my favorite college pastime. You knew a game of “chemistry tag” was imminent when the professor and lab assistant walked into class wearing goggles and full-body chemical resistant suits! Good times…
'enry
October 19, 2009 at 1:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
When I was in high school our science teachers would often leave small amounts of mercury around so we kids could play with it. i can hear many of you now saying....so that's what's wrong with him... :-(
October 19, 2009 at 4:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
Me too, biscuitboy! We used to play "Mercury Soccer" in the science room.
Here's what you need to play:
A nice flat and level surface (table) about 3 feet across
A small amount o' mercury
4 drinking straws
4 players
Here's how to play:
Each team consists of 2 players. One team stands on one side of the table and the other on the opposite side. The drop o' mercury is placed in the middle of the table. The players can only blow through the straws to move the mercury across the table. If you get the drop to the opposite edge of the table, your team gets a point! One player on each team is designated the "goalie" and is allowed to suck the mercury into the straw and blow it down "field" if it gets within 1 inch of your edge of the table.
Accidental or intentional ingestion of the mercury was frowned upon because it would signal the end of the game.
'enry
October 19, 2009 at 5:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
And just think, biscuitboy & Henry BOTH lived to tell the tale....
but, back to my original thought, I don't care if the training is required - if it's not used, it's wasted... step up EFD - do your job and don't pass the buck to the next guy.
October 19, 2009 at 8:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
old_soldier (anonymous) says...
EFD is not allowed to clean up spills due to liabilty and insurance issues. The federal law that YY4U talks about also includes wording that says the person/organization/institution that spilled the material is responsible for cleanup and proper disposal.
October 19, 2009 at 9:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
Yep, FD hazmat teams are there to try and mitigate the hazard whether it be stopping the leak, containing the spill, etc. They are not for clean up.
October 20, 2009 at 12:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )