Chlorine

Chlorine levels in drinking water from the Campus Hills Water Works company have returned to normal, but the results of bacteria level tests will not be available until today, state officials said.Baltimore Circuit Judge Ellen M. Heller yesterday continued an injunction issued Friday at the request of the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to have the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) run the privately owned Harford County water company.The action came after samples taken by the MDE showed levels of chlorine judged to be a health hazard.

A chlorine leak at Montebello Filtration Plant No. 2 on Hillen Road in Baltimore Monday morning sent two workers to the hospital, according to a city public works spokesman. The leak occurred around 9:30 a.m. Monday and two workers who were exposed to the chemical were taken to local hospitals, public works spokesman Kurt Kocher said. He could not comment on their condition. Approximately 15-to-20 people working in the plant at the time were evacuated, he said. Baltimore City firefighters and HAZMAT workers capped the leak, which Kocher said appeared to be caused by a faulty cap on one of the plant's out-of-service filtration cylinders.

Firefighters sealed a leaking chlorine gas tank Friday three hours after the leak was detected by an employee at a county water-treatmentplant near Annapolis.The operator of the Broad Creek Water Treatment Plant off Riva Road found a minor leak in a 150-pound gas cylinder about 1 p.m. and notified the Fire Department, Department of Utilities spokesman Jody Vollmar said.Thirty-five firefighters were sent to the plant, fire department spokesman Capt. Gary Sheckells said.By shortly after 4 p.m., theyhad encased the leaking tank, dissipated the chlorine gas that had accumulated inside the storage area and handed the tank over to its owner, Delta Chemical Co.The Broad Creek plant, which purifies 2.9 million gallons of drinking water each day, is adjacent to the HealthDepartment on Harry S. Truman Parkway.

2 mids report assaults during training assignments Two female U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen have reported being sexually assaulted while away on summer training assignments. The Navy Criminal Investigative Service is investigating both cases. No charges have been filed. An academy spokesman, Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, said one case involves a sophomore who made the report in June in Norfolk, Va. Carpenter said the accused isn't a midshipman. In the other case, Carpenter said, a junior reported being sexually assaulted in July.

A chlorine leak at Montebello Filtration Plant No. 2 on Hillen Road in Baltimore Monday morning sent two workers to the hospital, according to a city public works spokesman. The leak occurred around 9:30 a.m. Monday and two workers who were exposed to the chemical were taken to local hospitals, public works spokesman Kurt Kocher said. He could not comment on their condition. Approximately 15-to-20 people working in the plant at the time were evacuated, he said. Baltimore City firefighters and HAZMAT workers capped the leak, which Kocher said appeared to be caused by a faulty cap on one of the plant's out-of-service filtration cylinders.

Anne Arundel County firefighters extinguished a chlorine fire in Harwood on Monday and asked the residents of 10 houses to stay indoors until smoke from the blaze dissipated. The fire was reported about 8 p.m. in the 100 block of Harwood Drive and was confined to two 5-gallon buckets of chlorine, said fire Capt. Michael Cox. He said the owners of the house where the fire occurred were not at home at the time of the fire and that a neighbor called 911. Cox said the buckets of chlorine might not have been properly sealed and that rainwater might have reacted with the chlorine, sparking the fire.

I volunteer at a greenhouse for seniors. The manager sets out jugs of water for 24 to 48 hours to dissipate the chlorine. My notes from my Master Gardening class say that chlorine is a trace element for plants. Your comments, please. Chlorine is, indeed, a micronutrient required for plant growth, but necessary only in minute quantities. Because chlorine can kill bacteria, in excessive amounts it could have a negative impact on the good soil bacteria that benefit plants. Excessive chlorine can also directly injure plant roots.

The summers of Christi Nichols' youth rarely passed without her soft, platinum blond hair turning into a green-tinted mop. Chlorine damage from hours at the pool and excessive sun exposure can transform healthy hair into a brittle, filmy mess that may last for months. While damage is more apparent in those with blond hair, all hair types and colors take a beating during the hot, humid summer months. "I remember when I was a little girl, we went out to the pool almost every day," Nichols said.

A Laurel businessman pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt to illegally leaving nine canisters of highly toxic chlorine gas in a business park off U.S. 1, the U.S. attorney's office announced. Richard Fletcher, 46, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus restitution for the cost of the cleanup, for violating the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act by failing to notify authorities of the dumping, prosecutors said Thursday.

In grandmother's time whites were dried on the clothesline and got their brightness from the natural bleaching action of the sun. Fabrics now seldom see the light of washday and have to be treated in the home laundry. Here are some hints on keeping whites at their best from the experts at Woolite.* Always sort whites into a separate load. Adding even the softest pastels will result in some color exchange.* Follow directions on garment care for washing, washability, water temperature and drying.

Spring is the season to start thinking about air conditioning, or at least to put in a call and have the gizmos looked over. What you really need to think about this year is that the inner workings of cooling systems in this country are due for a big change come Jan. 1 - in an effort to comply with an international green treaty and spare the ever-depleting ozone layer. There are at least five things you should know in the cooling department. What's Montreal got to do with it? There's an international treaty - the Montreal Protocol - that, if adhered to, could lead to the recovery of the ozone layer by 2050.

LONDON - In what would be a major boost for the U.S. poultry industry, the European Union appears close to lifting its 11-year-old ban on imports of American poultry. Some trade experts say an announcement could come as early as today after a meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council in Brussels, Belgium. Others say it's more likely an announcement will come next month at a formal U.S.-EU summit in Slovenia. The expected decision would open up a market worth at least $200 million, and perhaps much more, to U.S. poultry farmers.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. military on announced yesterday the deaths of 14 more soldiers in the past three days, a heavy toll that underscored the increased exposure of American forces as reinforcements push deeper into war-torn neighborhoods of Baghdad and outlying areas in a bid to flush out militants. Northeast of the capital, a car bomb exploded about 200 yards from the entrance of a U.S. military base, unleashing a noxious cloud of chlorine gas that sickened at least 62 soldiers but caused no injuries, the military said.

Baltimore County Police have charged a Dulaney High School senior with bringing a potentially explosive cocktail of chlorine and rubbing alcohol inside the building, sending a teacher to the hospital and evacuating the Timonium school for three hours. Police said yesterday they charged Scott Michael Perry, 18, of the 3900 block of Eland Road with knowingly using a destructive device, disrupting school activities and reckless endangerment. Perry is being held at the Cockeysville police station on $150,000 bail.

Congress has at last recognized and moved to fix a gaping breach in America's homeland security: railroad and transit system security. Unfortunately, the Senate and House bills come with veto provocations. The Senate bill enacting much of the 9/11 commission's recommendations has a provision authorizing collective bargaining by aviation security workers. The House bill embraces whistleblower protections for employees involved in security projects. Both bills apparently are nonstarters in the White House's view.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Suicide bombers sent another chilling message to Sunni tribal leaders who have rebuffed al-Qaida, blowing up three trucks loaded with chlorine-laden explosives in Anbar province, the military said yesterday. At least two people were killed, and more than 350 were sickened by the noxious clouds, including seven U.S. troops. Since January, suspected Sunni insurgents have waged six attacks involving a combination of explosive devices and chlorine, killing a total of 26 people.

LONDON - In what would be a major boost for the U.S. poultry industry, the European Union appears close to lifting its 11-year-old ban on imports of American poultry. Some trade experts say an announcement could come as early as today after a meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council in Brussels, Belgium. Others say it's more likely an announcement will come next month at a formal U.S.-EU summit in Slovenia. The expected decision would open up a market worth at least $200 million, and perhaps much more, to U.S. poultry farmers.

More than 40 customers and employees had to leave the Kmart on Englar Road in Westminster when chlorine fumes from a trash compactor filled the department store Friday morning.The store was closed at 9:11 a.m., three employees were taken to Carroll County General Hospital for treatment and another 12 people were taken to the nearby National Guard Armory to escape the fumes, said Kevin Utz, public relations spokesman for the Westminster fire company.About 20 employees, some of whom had begun work as early as 6 a.m., were examined at the scene when they complained of headaches, dizziness, burning eyes and general sickness.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- For the second time in two days, suspected Sunni Arab insurgents targeted civilians yesterday with a crude chemical weapon: a bomb attached to chlorine gas canisters that killed two people, sickened 25 and injured eight others. The attack was the third in a month involving a combination of explosive devices and chlorine. All three attacks seem to have been poorly executed - burning the chemical agent rather than dispersing it - but Iraqi and U.S. officials said they see a pattern emerging, an apparent effort by insurgents to bring a new level of fear and havoc to Iraq as a new security plan for Baghdad takes shape.

A distinct and disagreeable life form is quietly colonizing Maryland's rain-soaked homes and businesses. It's mold. The ubiquitous fungus -- distinctly different from plants and animals -- sends out tiny, unseen spores that permeate the air and give mold its unique ability to survive and spread. The mold that appears as a harmless speck on a leaky faucet or under a basement water heater will soon eat away at walls, floors, foundations and other surfaces if left unchecked. "Mold is a very resilient organism," said Lance Fisher, general manager of the Salisbury office of Marcor Remediation Inc., a Hunt Valley-based firm that removes mold and other environmental messes from businesses and homes across the nation.