California woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

[Pathfinder]

Calif. woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

Updated: May 17, 2012 5:54 PM CDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Beach rocks that caused a California woman's shorts to catch fire and severely burn her legs and hands appeared to be coated with phosphorus, but it was unclear how the flammable chemical got onto the stones found near a military base, authorities said Thursday.

"We have never been aware of anything like this before," said Denise Fennessy, assistant director of Orange County's environmental health division.

Field tests indicated the phosphorus was found on two rocks from San Onofre State Beach that will be submitted to a state-certified laboratory for verification, Fennessy said.

A naturally occurring mineral, phosphorus is found in oxidized form in rocks, but in its pure elemental form can burn when exposed to air. Phosphorous compounds are used in everything from flares to fertilizer.

Coast Guard and fire officials, however, said they never heard of local beach rocks igniting.

"I spoke directly to the paramedic on the call," said Capt. Marc Stone of the Orange County Fire Authority. "He's worked 27 years as a paramedic and specifically on the beach areas, and it's the first time he's ever seen anything like this."

More...

http://www.fox8live.com/story/18509400/bc-us-fire-rocks-4th-ld-writethru469

[Emily]

Re: California woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

Flaming beach rock victim has undergone two skin-graft surgeries

Local Geologist Speaks About Rock Fire Incident

In initial tests, two of the rocks tested for a phosphorous substance and geologist Pat Abbott said it should not have been on the rocks.
?There?s nothing flammable in these rocks whatsoever,? said Abbott.
He identified the rocks as a type of metamorphic rock.
?There?s no way this orange stuff goes with these rocks,? said Abbott. ?The orange has been added by a human being. I don?t know if it?s evil or incidental.?...

San Onofre nuclear plant likely not connected to burning rocks

There's speculation about military or industrial waste sources for the phosphorous, but San Onofre did at least use phosphate chemistry at one time:

Review of field use and corrosion experience with phosphate chemistry in nuclear steam generators

<table class="productDetails"><tbody><tr class="shade-light"><th>Authors:</th> <td> Pearl, W.L. (NWT Corp., San Jose, CA (USA)) </td></tr> <tr class="shade-white"><th>Publication Date:</th><td>1991 Jun 01</td></tr> <tr class="shade-light"><th>OSTI Identifier:</th><td> 5561148</td></tr> <tr class="shade-white"><th>Report Number(s):</th><td>EPRI-NP-7347</td></tr> <tr class="shade-light"><th>Resource Type:</th><td>Technical Report</td></tr> <tr class="shade-white"><th>Research Org:</th><td>Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (USA); NWT Corp., San Jose, CA (USA)</td></tr></tbody></table>
Review of field use and corrosion experience with phosphate chemistry in nuclear steam generators
Although most PWRs changed to and are operated with all-volatile treatment (AVT) secondary chemistry control, San Onofre Unit 1, Jose Cabrera in Spain and the early vintage KWU built PWRs operated successfully with phosphate chemistry. Available experience reports indicated no significant secondary side initiated corrosion other than wastage had occurred, in contrast to IGA/IGSCC found at a large proportion of plants using AVT secondary water chemistry control. The available plant operating data and corrosion/eddy current analysis results from plants operated with phosphate chemistry are presented and evaluated in this report with focus on current phosphate water chemistry practices and the resulting ability to control wastage attack of Alloy 600 steam generator tubing. 56 refs., 11 figs., 16 tabs.

They have been having problems at the plant lately:
San Onofre's future hinges on finding cause of abnormal tube wear

May 17, 2012|By Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times

On Jan. 31, alarms alerted the control room at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station that a radiation leak was occurring in one of the nearly 39,000 tubes that carry radioactive water in the steam generators.

That failure led to an unparalleled shutdown of one of California's two nuclear power plants and triggered more than three months of detective work by Southern California Edison officials and federal nuclear regulators that has yet to determine the problem's root cause or when San Onofre will reopen.

Since then, the outlook for the plant has gotten worse....

[Emily]

Re: California woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

This news from the UK gives credence to the theory about a military source for the phosphorus on San Onofre beach:

Bomb disposal squad blows up phosphorous flares found on busy beach after they were accidentally dropped by plane

By Rob Preece

PUBLISHED: 04:09 EST, 22 May 2012 | UPDATED: 05:01 EST, 22 May 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1vjubzemU

[Emily]

Re: California woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

Burning rocks source investigated by Marines

Published: June 8, 2012 Updated: 3:38 p.m.
ERIKA I. RITCHIE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SAN CLEMENTE ? Base officials at Camp Pendleton have begun an investigation into how phosphorous got on two rocks that ignited in the pocket of a woman's shorts, causing severe burns that required hospitalization.
[snip]
California State Parks Lt. Rich Haydon, district superintendent for the parks, said he is concerned by the confirmation of phosphorous calling it "An extremely hazardous substance."
[snip]
"In the past we've found military ordnance floating to the beach from the U.S. Navy," he said.

In cases like that he said he has cordoned off the beach and called in experts to render the area safe...

[Emily]

Re: California woman apparently burned by rocks in pocket

The case against this being military pollution:

Right Chemistry: Phosphorus key to the mystery of flaming rocks

By Joe Schwarcz, Special to The Gazette June 16, 2012


Lyn Hiner was happily munching on an orange in her kitchen when her pants spontaneously burst into flame! As the house quickly filled with an acrid white smoke and she struggled to rid herself of the burning garment, a couple of rocks tumbled out of a pocket. The rocks were aflame! The ordinary-looking stones, clearly the cause of the second and third degree burns to her arms and legs, had been collected earlier in the day on a California beach. They were the makings of a real chemical mystery....
[snip]
By all accounts, the rocks looked perfectly ordinary and in no way resembled flares or any type of phosphorus-containing military device...

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...#ixzz1yTkaw0F3