Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Smelling Chemical spill 155 miles away

I can smell the Chemical Spill in Cordele Ga here in Alabama this morning.
Chemical Spill

Don't breathe too deeply!

Wow, 155 miles is a long way for a chemical spill odor. I wonder what the solvent was?

Do not know what the solvent was but is smells kind of like a skunk sprayed some where.

They're saying it was at least 17 barrels of insecticide. They ruptured or exploded overnight.

From the link:

Lunsford explained that a light crew at the plant was attempting to remove an insecticide called Dimethoate from a 55 gallon drum. The chemical was in pellet form, he said, and personnel were warming the vat to make removal easier.

Apparently, the vat got too hot and blew the lid off, spewing fumes into the air. The chemical has such a strong odor, Lunsford said, that it still had not completely dissipated by 11 a.m.

Bhopal, India?

Thanks ESSHUP, it appears they are updating the information on that link. I know the chemical name was not there when I linked it this morning because I wanted to look it up in my HAZMAT book.

I found this old link:

Dimethoate

Sounds like heating it may not been a prudent decision. Seems it's been banned in some other countrys.

I used to spray thousands of acres of alfalfa and soybeans for spider mites and weevils with dimethoate at 2 qt per acre,and that was diluted in 20 gallons of water per acre. That was considered low rate in those days, the late 80's. The smell would linger for many days. Nasty to work with. JKB I also remember the India tragedy by Union Carbide.

Looks like the Pellet form had turned to liquid in the VAT. With the flash point it has some one is lucky.

I read the flash was 266. Did I see the wrong data sheet?

I was looking at something different where the NFPA had it rated at 124F flash.

That's a big difference. One must be a blend.

Depends which manufacturers MSDS sheet you read.
> 109F was the lowest I saw. (closed cup method) 266F is mentioned in a couple others. NFPA was 124F in the Cornell doc.

For those that are not aware of what Flash Point is, It's the lowest temperature where ignitable vapor's are formed for the material, and a degree of concentration for the vapors. Still need a source of ignition, Like a spark!

I've worked with (engineered and built) equipment that applied materials with a flash point just over freezing. Had to heat it up quite a bit to apply, then run it thru a 400F pre-cure oven while wet. Not a big deal! Really fun project!

Haven't read much over what was posted here, and a few MSDS sheets. Sounds like someone's butt is in serious trouble tho!

Yea I am thinking the 124 is either a blend or Vapor as I went back and looked up a 266 close cup.