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Explosions, multi-alarm fire reported at Texas chemical plant; residents ordered to seek shelter Residents were ordered to seek shelter and turn off their air conditioners after several explosions were reported at a chemical plant near Houston Friday evening. A shelter-in-place order was in effect for about three hours for those within a 2-mile radius of the DrillChem chemical plant in Conroe which burst into flames around 4:44 p.m. local time, fire officials said. While it's not yet clear how the fire started, the company has told authorities that the last employee left about 30 minutes before it erupted and...

A close call for the person filming near the site of the Tianjin chemical explosion as he narrowly avoids being hit by shattering glass. Bonus drone video of the aftermath also included plus photos.

Eyes watering, struggling to breathe, Abd al-Mouin, 22, dragged his nephews from a house reeking of noxious fumes, then briefly blacked out. Even fresh air, he recalled, was “burning my lungs.” The chaos unfolded in the Syrian town of Sarmeen one night this spring as walkie-talkies warned of helicopters flying from a nearby army base, a signal for residents to take cover. Soon, residents said, there were sounds of aircraft, a smell of bleach and gasping victims streaming to a clinic.

What will 3D printers ultimately evolve into? No one has a functioning crystal ball in front of them I assume, but a good guess would be a machine which can practically build anything its user desire, all on the molecular, and eventually atomic levels. Sure we are likely multiple decades away from widespread molecular manufacturing, but a group of chemists led by medical doctor Martin D. Burke at the University of Illinois may have already taken a major step in that direction. Burke, who joined the Department of Chemistry at the university in 2005, heads up Burke Laboratories where he...

Need an obscure medicinal compound found only in a jungle plant? Just print it.Say you're a medical researcher interested in a rare chemical produced in the roots of a little-known Peruvian flower. It's called ratanhine, and it's valuable because it has some fascinating anti-fungal properties that might make for great medicines. Getting your hands on the rare plant is hard, and no chemical supplier is or has ever sold it. But maybe, thanks to the work of University of Illinois chemist Martin Burke, you could print it right in the lab. In a new study published in the journal Science...

Militias in Libya have captured chemical weapons from storage areas in southern and central parts of the country, the Arab media reported on Saturday. “Unfortunately [chemical weapons] exist in locations known to the militias, who have seized large amounts of them to use in their war against the [Libyan] army,” a Libyan military official told the London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat. The former regime of Muammar Gaddafi had held the chemical weapons and the official warned that Islamic State could obtain the chemicals, which include mustard gas and the nerve agent Sarin. “Before his death, Gaddafi left approximately one thousand cubic...

At least 14 ISIS fighters were killed while filling a chemical warhead near Baghdad. The Business Standard reported, via Rantburg: At least 14 members of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group were killed Tuesday near Baghdad when a rocket whose warhead they were filling with chlorine gas exploded. Iraqi security officials said seven more IS militants were injured in the incident, which occurred near the town of al-Dhuluiya, about 90 km north of Baghdad. Al-Dhuluiya was also where four members of the Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen suffered symptoms of asphyxiation after inhaling chlorine gas released by two improvised...

he United States is concerned that the Islamic State group and other terrorists could get a hold of chemical weapons if Syria is hiding any stockpiles, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday. Samantha Power spoke to reporters after the Security Council received a briefing from Sigrid Kaag, who heads the international effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons. The joint mission of the United Nations and the Organization for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons will end at the end of the month after destroying nearly all of Syria's declared stockpile. But Kaag said the OPCW is...

The Islamic State extremist group (Isis) has taken control of a vast former chemical weapons facility north-west of Baghdad, where 2,500 degraded chemical rockets filled decades ago with deadly nerve agent sarin or their remnants were stored along with other chemical warfare agents, Iraq has said in a letter circulated at the United Nations. The US played down the threat from the takeover, saying there were no intact chemical weapons and it would be very difficult to use the material for military purposes. Iraq's UN ambassador, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, told the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, in a letter that "armed...

It’s a confirmation of reports in June that ISIS had taken control of a site where some of Saddam’s WMD arsenal remained. Iraq has informed the United Nations that the Islamic State extremist group has taken control of a vast former chemical weapons facility northwest of Baghdad where 2,500 chemical rockets filled with the deadly nerve agent sarin or their remnants were stored along with other chemical warfare agents. Iraq’s U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon circulated Tuesday that “terrorist” groups entered the Muthanna site June 11 and seized weapons and equipment...

As has become standard in this Twilight-Zone-episode-of-a-presidency, you've got to look to the foreign press -UK, Australia, Canada, or Germany (ironically)- to get the full story these days... same as volk seeking the truth were forced to in Nazi Germany... This is due of course to the de facto takeover of the American MSM we've been forced to witness over the last five years. Most of these hacks have bet the farm on this administration and are still showing no signs of shame- so expect them to protect him to the bitter end.  And it's not just petty scandals or bizarre nominees/appointees they're hiding anymore- since...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The ban on water is still in effect for thousands of West Virginians, but once acceptable readings are found the ban will be lifted by zones. Tests collected at 7 a.m. Sunday showed 0 parts per million (ppm) at the source of the leak. "The numbers we're seeing look good and are very encouraging," Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said during Sunday's news conference. "The numbers we're seeing are trending in the right direction." Hundreds of samples have been taken and sent to 10 labs in West Virginia and some have been flown to Ohio and Pennsylvania...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- During a press conference Saturday afternoon, the DEP said they now estimate 7,500 gallons of MCHM (4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol) have leaked into the Elk River in Kanawha County. The emergency do not use water order is still in place Saturday as crews continue to test water supplies from several different areas. Mike Dorsey with the DEP says they are "fairly confident" that the leak started Thursday. West Virginia American Water customers in parts of nine counties are under a do not use water order. Those counties are also under a state of emergency issued Thursday evening by...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The National Guard says tests show the amount of chemical in the water is going down, but is still not where it needs to be for residents to use the water. West Virginia American Water customers in parts of nine counties have been under a do not use water order since early Thursday evening. Those nine counties are also under a state of emergency declared by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. A chemical leak was noticed Thursday morning in the Elk River, near Freedom Industries. The company has since been forced by the DEP to shut down...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Water and Waste Management has issued a Cease Operations Order to Freedom Industries in connection with the company’s leak of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol into the Elk River. Also, the WVDEP’s Division of Air Quality has issued a Notice of Violation to Freedom Industries for causing statutory air pollution by discharging MCHM into the air. According to a press release, the Division of Air Quality initiated an investigation Thursday morning following citizen complaints of objectionable odors near and downriver from the plant. At 11:10 a.m. Thursday, DAQ personnel discovered...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- West Virginia American Water held a press conference Friday morning saying a water use ban will remain in effect indefinitely in parts of 9 counties after a chemical leak in Charleston. West Virginia American Water President Jeffrey McIntyre says at this point, they can't say the water is unsafe to drink, but they also can't say the water is safe. WVAW says they were notified about 12 p.m. Thursday by the West Virginia DEP about a leak at Freedom Industries on Barlow Drive. During a press conference Friday morning, McIntyre said they were originally given incorrect...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The West Virginia National Guard is working hard to get supplies to those affected by the water contamination. Nine counties are currently under a state of emergency after a chemical leak in Kanawha County Thursday morning. A plane was sent to Martinsburg as soon as the state of emergency was declared. The plane plans to connect with FEMA and have a full supply of water available by Friday morning. Members of the national guard tell WSAZ.com that they are always prepared for these types of emergencies. "This is the same thing that we have done before...

Chemical Spill Spurs Action Thursday morning a chemical leak into the Elk River occurred from the Freedom Industries in Charleston. The leaked product is 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, which is used in the froth flotation process of coal washing and preparation. Since the West Virginia American Water Treatment plant is just downstream from the spill, this "contaminated" water flowed into the Charleston water plant. From there Laura Jordan of WV American says the "octupus-like" pipelines of WV American feed water to 8 counties in Southern and Central WV. That means even areas that are not on the Elk or Great Kanawha Rivers...

THE HAGUE/TIRANA - Albania rejected on Friday a US request to host the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, dealing a blow to a US-Russian accord to eliminate the nerve agents from the country's protracted civil war. Negotiations went down to the wire, delaying the scheduled adoption on Friday of a step-by-step plan to get rid of 1,300 tons of Syria's sarin, mustard and other agents. Albania's refusal marked an unprecedented break from its traditionally staunch allegiance to NATO ally Washington. It followed a storm of protest in the Adriatic republic, where protesters complained of exploitation. "It is impossible for Albania...

1. We don’t know what kind of chemical weapons they have or how many there are. Middle East experts like to say that Syria has “one of the largest chemical weapons stockpiles in the world,” but estimates of how many chemical weapons Syria has vary widely between 500–1,000 tons. We also don’t know exactly what type of chemical agents they are using, though experts who have studied Syria’s military closely say its likely Sarin, mustard gas, and VX nerve agents. “We don’t know what form they are in or how they have been mixed together. We don’t know if they...