Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Europe’s Rich Families – Such as EXOR’s Agnellis – Turn Dealmakers
Sep 29 2015 // John Elkann, the leader of Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family, has a way of preparing his relatives for a big takeover battle that you won’t see at your everyday company. In June, he gathered two branches of...
Kansas Firm Sentenced for Mishandling Chemicals
Aug 28 2015 // An El Dorado, Kan., company has been ordered to pay $97,612 in restitution and a $10,000 fine for mishandling waste chemicals, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. The company also must pay a $400 special assessment and serve...
Texas Oil Field Chemical Supplier Rocked by Explosions
Aug 17 2015 // A series of explosions rocked an oil field chemical supply company north of Houston on Aug. 14, setting off a fire that sent a broad, dense column of thick, black smoke towering into the otherwise blue skies. DrillChem...
UPDATE: 112 Dead in China Blast; Access Blocked over Contamination Fears
Aug 17 2015 // Authorities pulled more bodies from a massive blast site in the Chinese port of Tianjin, pushing the death toll to 112 on Sunday as teams scrambled to clear dangerous chemical contamination. Hundreds of people were injured...
Washington City Sues Monsanto Over River Contamination
Aug 17 2015 // The city of Spokane is suing the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, which it blames for pollution in the Spokane River in Washington. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Spokane, alleges...
Chinese Officials Give Scant Details on Cause of Tianjin Explosion and Fires
Aug 14 2015 // Chinese officials provided scant detail on the cause of massive explosions at a hazardous-chemicals warehouse in northern China’s Tianjin port, more than a day after blasts killed at least 50 people and injured more...
Washington City Sues Monsanto Over River Contamination
Aug 5 2015 // The city of Spokane is suing the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, which it blames for pollution in the Spokane River in Washington. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Spokane, alleges that the...
Feds Say Texas Deaths Show DuPont Has ‘Failed’ Safety Program
Jul 13 2015 // U.S. regulators on took DuPont to task for a massive gas leak last year that killed four workers at a plant in Texas, placing the chemical company in its “severe violator enforcement program” and saying the...
Ex-Chemical Board Safety Chairman Could Face Probe
Jul 9 2015 // Two House members are seeking a Justice Department investigation of the former head of the federal board that investigates chemical accidents, saying they believe he made multiple false statements while testifying before...
Judge Won’t Recuse Prosecutors on West Virginia Chemical Spill Trial
Jun 30 2015 // A judge will let federal prosecutors keep working on a criminal case over a chemical spill last year in West Virginia, shooting down arguments that prosecutors should be recused from the case because they were among the...
Congress Asks Why Takata Air Bag Defect Went Unresolved So Long
Jun 3 2015 // Lawmakers on Tuesday sought answers from Takata Corp. on just how much is being done to to find the root cause of an air-bag defect that caused dozens of explosions and at least six deaths. “I have serious concerns...
Prosecutors Say No to Moving West Virginia Chemical Spill Criminal Case
Jun 1 2015 // Prosecutors oppose a motion by former executives asking a judge to move their criminal case over a chemical spill. In Charleston federal court May 29, prosecutors wrote that ex-Freedom Industries officials Gary Southern...
Bankruptcy Judge Rejects Freedom Industries’ Chemical Spill Settlement
May 18 2015 // A judge has rejected a $6.7 million bankruptcy plan by the company behind a January 2014 chemical spill in West Virginia. In a federal bankruptcy court filing last week, Judge Ronald Pearson said Freedom Industries and...
DuPont’s Teflon Spin-Off Plan Worries Neighbors of West Virginia Chemical Plant
May 8 2015 // DuPont Co.’s plan to spin off its Teflon unit is spurring concern on the West Virginia-Ohio border that the new company won’t cover medical payments for residents sickened by a chemical long-used at the...
Court Fight over Dow Chemical Herbicide Widens to 15 States
Apr 30 2015 // A court fight over use of a new Dow Chemical herbicide on genetically engineered U.S. corn and soybean crops is growing to encompass 15 Midwestern states after the company recently won federal approval for more widespread...
Florida Houses Passes Bill to Study, Regulate Fracking in State
Apr 29 2015 // The Florida House passed a bill Monday to study and regulate fracking, as well as prevent local governments from banning the oil and gas drilling practice. Democrats strongly opposed the bill, saying hydraulic fracturing...
West Virginia Governor Signs Scaled Back Version of 2014 Water Safety Law
Mar 30 2015 // Less than a year after signing legislation with new safeguards in response to a 2014 chemical spill that prompted a tap-water ban for 300,000 people, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill Friday to trim...
Obama Gets Chemical Safety Board Chief to Resign
Mar 29 2015 // The head of a U.S. industrial oversight agency who was dogged by congressional criticism has resigned at President Barack Obama’s request, the White House said. U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso...
West Virginia Chemical Spill Settlement for Community Projects Dropped
Mar 27 2015 // Lawyers for businesses and people affected by a massive chemical spill last year say a settlement to fund community projects is no longer being considered. In June 2014, lawyers for the groups affected by the Freedom...
Oil Industry Sues to Block U.S. Fracking Regulations
Mar 23 2015 // U.S. drillers already reeling from a six- month drop in oil prices denounced new U.S. fracking regulations as costly and unnecessary, and quickly met them with a lawsuit. After three years of debate, the U.S. Interior...
