Pfizer has admitted to a chemical spill into the Kalamazoo River‚ which prompted local authorities to issue a no-contact advisory for the river in Kalamazoo‚ Michigan. Government health agencies have declared the chemical involved in the spill to be a possible carcinogen and potentially deadly in high doses. However‚ Pfizer has said that it does "not anticipate any health risks."Pfizer notified the Kalamazoo Department of Public Services about the chemical spill around 4:30 p.m. on March 12. The pharmaceutical giant revealed that it had leaked an estimated 1‚057 gallons of methylene chloride within the process area of the company's manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo. The city of Kalamazoo said in a statement‚ "An unknown amount of the colorless liquid was discharged into a dedicated sanitary sewer serving Pfizer‚ which then flows to the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant (KWRP) for treatment."The city noted that the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant can only treat up to 291 gallons of methylene chloride per day. Local officials issued a no-contact advisory for the Kalamazoo River. "At this time‚ the Kalamazoo County Health &; Community Services Department‚ in cooperation with the City of Kalamazoo Department of Public Services‚ are advising all persons to avoid contact with the Kalamazoo River from Paterson Street Bridge in the city of Kalamazoo to the D Ave Bridge in Cooper Township‚" said the statement from county and city officials. Jim Rutherford‚ Kalamazoo County health officer‚ said‚ "This advisory will remain in effect until further investigation‚ and sampling indicates that there is no risk to public health."Pfizer asserted‚ "Given the amount of the discharge and controls in place‚ we do not anticipate any health risks.""Pfizer will continue to work with the City of Kalamazoo and is firmly committed to assessing and minimizing any potential impacts on human health‚ the environment‚ and the communities in which it operates‚" the pharmaceutical company stated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‚ "Methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) is a colorless liquid that can harm the eyes‚ skin‚ liver‚ and heart. Exposure can cause drowsiness‚ dizziness‚ numbness and tingling limbs‚ and nausea. It may cause cancer. Severe exposure can cause loss of consciousness and death."Besides being used in pharmaceutical manufacturing‚ methylene chloride is found in paint strippers‚ metal cleaners‚ adhesives‚ and lubricants. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration‚ 17 American workers died while using methylene chloride paint-stripping products to refinish bathtubs between 2000 and 2015.OSHA considers methylene chloride to be a potential occupational carcinogen.The Environmental Protection Agency classifies methylene chloride as a "toxic waste when a discarded commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate or an off-specification commercial chemical product or manufacturing chemical intermediate."The Kalamazoo location is Pfizer's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing plant‚ according to the company.The 1‚300-acre facility manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients‚ drug products‚ and medical devices. Each year‚ the Kalamazoo facility produces 1‚200 metric tons of products. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here! Pfizer assures no health risks after methylene chloride spill in Kalamazoo www.youtube.com

Currently looming over the Los Angeles skyline‚ such as it is‚ are three half-finished skyscrapers. The Chinese company building them ran out of money and abandoned the project in 2019. Since then‚ the towers have attracted a steady stream of spray-painting vandals eager to make their mark. Whatever one thinks of graffiti‚ its presence so high above the city is at least a testament to the perpetrators' persistence and physical daring. And it makes a statement of sorts about municipal mismanagement and the breakdown of public order.Over the last few decades‚ we've been taught to appreciate this onetime symbol of urban blight as art. But if it is art‚ it's the modern variety that takes "self-expression" as its highest value and requires us to overcome our instinctive response to beauty. American sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) sought to hone this instinct rather than suppress it. “Look for beauty‚ not ugliness‚” he once said when asked what maxims he lived by. “Look for goodness‚ not evil. Look for cheer‚ not trouble.” This approach served French well as one of America's foremost public artists and most potent myth-makers. This kind of sunny disposition is unlikely to help the aspiring artist of today‚ when it's widely assumed that art's proper function is to deflate myth. Yet we can no more eradicate our human need for myth than we can dispense with religion. Channeled properly‚ myth can unite and inspire‚ while leaving ample room to disagree about the history upon which it is based. Consider French's most famous piece‚ the Lincoln Memorial's massive seated figure of our 16th president. It's one of those works so familiar to us that it almost doesn't seem to have involved any art at all; this is simply what we think of when we think of Abraham Lincoln. Yet if we can manage to look at it anew‚ we can appreciate the magnitude of French's achievement: turning an extraordinary yet all-too-human leader into a lasting reminder of our debt to the past and our hope for the future.

If there's one thing we love more than a discount‚ it's free PC hardware‚ and right now you can amazingly net both as part of an AMD Ryzen CPU deal over on Newegg. In addition to grabbing yourself a powerful new processor‚ you'll be able to bolster your system's storage with a complementary 1TB SSD. Continue reading Get a free 1TB SSD with this AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU deal MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review‚ Best gaming CPU‚ Radeon RX 7800 XT review

Shadow of the Depth is a gorgeous-looking roguelike with hand-drawn visuals and top-down action‚ and it's out in Steam Early Access really soon. Channeling the style of Hades and the gameplay of something close to Enter The Gungeon‚ there's a lot of fast-paced action to get around. If you can't wait for the full release date I also have great news - there's a demo you can try right now. Continue reading Stunning Steam roguelike gets launch date‚ but you can try it now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best single-player games‚ Best roguelike games‚ Best fantasy games

Following the initial wave of PlayStation 5 Pro specs leaks that promise insight into the console's GPU performance‚ further information has come to light on its CPU. While it should surprise no one that AMD will once again take on graphics and processor duties‚ the makeup of the device's SoC looks to be paradoxically different and familiar. Continue reading PS5 Pro may get next gen AMD GPU‚ but with no CPU upgrade MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review‚ Best gaming CPU‚ Radeon RX 7800 XT review

It's been two years since Elden Ring launched‚ and fans are naturally eager to get their hands on its first expansion‚ Shadow of the Erdtree. The game's director has now shared some additional details about the DLC‚ which he says is the biggest expansion FromSoftware has ever created. Continue reading Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree is From’s biggest DLC ever MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best Elden Ring builds‚ Elden Ring bosses‚ The best Elden Ring classes

While not as important as the panel it contains‚ the design of a gaming monitor's shell and stand makes all the difference as to whether it fits in your gaming setup‚ both aesthetically and functionally. This is clearly something that's been on the mind of Asus ROG‚ evident in the design of its two new displays‚ the Strix XG27UCS and XG27ACS. Continue reading New Asus ROG gaming monitors want to get groovy with your smartphone MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ review‚ Asus ROG Raikiri review‚ Best gaming motherboard

A growing body of research suggests that the affliction may be psychological.

Henry Olsen and Rich Lowry discuss Donald Trump’s ease winning the Republican Presidential nomination‚ the election rematch between Trump and Biden‚ and more.

Earlier this month‚ the Supreme Court ruled that Trump was allowed back on Colorado’s primary ballot.