West Pharmaceuticals Explosion in North Carolina

Fox News | 01.29.03 | Me

[kcvl]

Plant employees over 200 people...

[templar]

It is not outside my realm of thinking that a 1 mile radius evacuation could be blamed on the smoke and omit certain contents of that smoke to avoid a mass panic.

The omitting of certain contents I can see. But if radiological contamination were involved I would think that the evac area would be larger than a mile. A mile would seem to be oriented toward the dilution of the smoke (and its chemicals) to less than dangerous levels. I'm just speculating, but I think it would be considerably larger if there were enough radiation involved to merit evac.

[wimpycat]

Thanks for the info. While the detail doesn't really give you much detail into exactly what caused the citation, just looking at the confined space violations, it had to do with the Permit, as I suspected.

It looks like stuff that was very easily fixed. Actually most OSHA violations have to do with the paperwork.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Two questions...

Did they start a "Shelter in Place" order for the local residents and -then- escalate to an evacuation?

How in the heck does the media know that 70-100 workers have not "checked in" with their families?

FWIW - I always thought the "Shelter in Place" plan was a feeble substitue for actually getting people evacuated in a planned and orderly manner. We live near (1 1/2 miles)from a large gasoline tank farm so I have pondered what our reaction would be to a mishap.

[js1138]

All the MEK that is sold this way ends up released into the air or dumped on the ground. Wonder why everyone buying a quart (more than a pound) isn't warned to report it's use?

It's probably the manufacturer that reports it, since it is made to be released.

[Catspaw]

Templar, I think you have me confused with someone else. I leave the fire & firefighting to the firefighters. Someone who has hazmat training would be able to tell you how wide a perimeter they set up. I do know a relatively large area in a business park was evacuated when a plane crashed into a dairy cold storage building in our area. It wasn't just for the explosion and fire--it was for the noxious fumes.

[Fred Mertz]

Initial reports on the local scanner traffic indicated a plane crash, but this has been refuted.

Refuted by whom?

[MichaelDammit]

Unlikely.....however many of these medical device manufacturers use ETO (ethylene oxide) as a sterilant gas. This stuff is HIGHLY flammable

[Betty Jo]

When you type in "West Pharmaceuticals"+ "Vaccines" on Google you get over 30 hits.

West is a global company in over 50 countries.

It is doing cutting edge research and clinical trials .

One of its areas is in "nasal vaccines delivery".

How soon can I find a DOD contract with West before it is pulled from the net?

If my theory about Binny and his boys and the Bin Laden Medical Matrix is correct,West would be on the list of targets to slow down Americas progress.

Note to admin,please dont pull this till you have read all the google hits!

[GOPJ]

bump

[GOPJ]

The unthinkable becomes thinkable...

They make vaccines and syringes...hmmm..

(Tinfoil hat still in place) Anthrax vaccine? Bio-terror attack?

[GOPJ]

The unthinkable becomes thinkable...

They make vaccines and syringes...hmmm..

(Tinfoil hat still in place) Anthrax vaccine? Bio-terror attack?

[Fred Mertz]

Thanks for the research, Betty Jo. I'll take a look.

[russdawg]

sorry, refuted by the faa. I know that's not reliable but the pictures also indicate the same. also everyone involved, firemen I have spoken to are saying the same. Sorry about the time delay, we had church tonight, one of our guys is in the hospital. Here is the rundown of all the people I know who work there. 2 on 2nd shift. 1 lady left early sick at 1pm, 1 is in the hospital, back injury, 1 lady in the bathroom at time of explosion, 2 more believed to be on 2nd shift as well. my neighbor quit six months ago. I believe this is all I know of at this point. Everyone in this town knows someone who works in the plant.

[swarthyguy]

Thanks.

[PhiKapMom]

Just watching our local ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City and they are reporting that people in North Carolina at the plant think it was a terrorism attack.

[PhiKapMom]

If you have a tinfoil hat in place, so does our local ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City who reported the possibility of terrorism!

[kcvl]

2 July 2001

Solvay announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with West Pharmaceuticals (Lionville, Pennsylvania, US) for an intranasal influenza vaccine. Under the agreement Solvay obtains worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and sell nasal formulations of influenza vaccines using the ChiSys® technology. Market introduction of the vaccine is aimed for in 2005. The intranasal vaccine developed by West Pharmaceuticals combines Solvay's sub-unit vaccine Influvac® with the penetration enhancer chitosan. This chitosan-based technology is also used in other products and has a favorable safety profile, which is well-documented. The aim is to develop a one-dose vaccine to be applied in the nose by a special spraying device. The clinical development program includes extensive studies. The intranasal vaccine will be registered and marketed globally.

[kcvl]

West Pharmaceuticals; Chiron Vaccines; and Prof. Kingston Mills, University of Maynooth, Eire, healthy human volunteers have been recruited into a study of intranasal immunisation with a diphtheria toxoid vaccine and a novel nasal carrier.

[kcvl]

BioSpace Companies: W

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Waratah Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Warner Chilcott
Warner-Lambert
Wasatch Pharmaceutical Inc.
Watson Laboratories, Inc.
Watson Pharmaceuticals
Welfide Corporation
WellSpring Pharmaceutical Corporation
West Pharmaceutical Services
Whatman Plc
Wilex AG
Women First HealthCare, Inc.
Woodside Biomedical, Inc.
World Diagnostics
World Health Organization
World Heart Corporation
Worldwide Medical Corporation
Wright Medical Technology, Inc.
Wyeth
Wyeth (Pennsylvania)
Wyeth BioPharma
Wyeth Consumer Healthcare
Wyeth Lederle Vaccines
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Research
Wyeth Research
Wyeth-Ayerst
Wyeth-Ayerst Canada Inc.
Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth-Vaccines

[kcvl]

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (West) is a global pharmaceutical technology company that applies proprietary materials science, formulation research and manufacturing innovation to advance the quality, therapeutic value, development speed and rapid market availability of pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. West is the world’s premiere provider of standard-setting systems and device components for parenterally administered medicines and an emerging leader in the development of advanced formulation technologies for the transmucosal delivery of drugs. Internationally headquartered in Lionville, Pennsylvania, West supports its partners and customers from 50 locations throughout North America, South America, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Asia and the Pacific and Australia.