Latest Chemicals Headlines

All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.

West Virginia Lawmakers OK Chemical Spill Bill As Session Ends

Mar 11 2014 // Leading up to a midnight deadline, West Virginia lawmakers scrambled Saturday to give teachers raises and hike the minimum wage. A Jan. 9 chemical spill into the water supply loomed over the session, which began three days...

Connecticut Bill to Require Study of Road Treatments

Mar 6 2014 // Connecticut Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said on Feb.28 he’s willing to review whether it makes sense to add rust inhibitors to chemical road treatments used to clear ice and snow on state roads and...

West Virginia Lawmakers Amend Chemical Spill Bill As Session Nears End

Mar 3 2014 // As time ticks away, West Virginia lawmakers are suggesting another face-lift for a bill that would tighten aboveground storage tank regulations and safeguard water systems against chemical spills. The House of Delegates...

Louisiana Company Fined $91K for Safety, Health Violations

Feb 25 2014 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Carol Callahan, doing business as Natural Advantage, for 19 serious safety and health violations at the Oakdale, La., facility....

West Virginia Denied FEMA Grant for Chemical Spill

Feb 14 2014 // Federal officials have denied West Virginia’s request for emergency grants to reimburse first responders, nonprofits and public agencies that assisted during last month’s chemical spill. FEMA said in a letter...

Senate to Take Up Chemical Safety Bill After West Virginia Spill

Feb 6 2014 // U.S. senators said they will take up a bill as soon as this week to require inspections and clean-up plans for chemical storage tanks, over the objection of industry, after a West Virginia spill tainted drinking...

Texas Fertilizer Explosion on List of Texas Lawmaker Priorities

Feb 2 2014 // The West fertilizer blast that killed 15 people will face more scrutiny over the next year from Texas lawmakers who could strengthen state regulations surrounding chemical facility safety and inspections, according to a...

Freedom Industries: West Virginia Chemical Spill Bigger Than First Estimate

Jan 30 2014 // The company behind a chemical spill that contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people now estimates some 10,000 gallons of chemicals leaked, up from an earlier figure of 7,500 gallons, state regulators said Monday. West...

West Virginia Seeks Federal Funds for Chemical Spill Assessment

Jan 28 2014 // West Virginia is seeking a $350,000 federal grant to assess the damage of a chemical spill that polluted the water supply for 300,000 people. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said the money would help with monitoring, testing and...

West Virginia Chemical Firm Files for Bankruptcy As Litigation Begins

Jan 27 2014 // The company blamed for a chemical spill that left 300,000 West Virginians without safe drinking water filed for bankruptcy, temporarily shielding it from dozens of lawsuits, many by businesses that were forced to shut down...

West Virginia Chemical Spill Firm Says It Has Insurance

Jan 23 2014 // The embattled company behind West Virginia’s chemical spill has reached a bankruptcy court deal for up to $4 million in credit from a lender to help continue operations, an attorney said. The arrangement will allow...

West Virginia Politicians Call for State, Federal Regulation of Chemicals

Jan 22 2014 // West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin this week proposed tighter regulations for chemical storage facilities after a spill contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people. Tomblin, the Democratic...

New Health Warning Raises Concern in West Virginia Over Chemical Spill

Jan 17 2014 // A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning to pregnant women in West Virginia has raised alarms because officials, relying on the agency’s guidance, had been assuring residents their tapwater was safe...

Sen. Rockefeller Requests Increased Funding for Chemical Safety Board

Jan 15 2014 // U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller is seeking more funding for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board following a spill in West Virginia that tainted the water supply for about 300,000 residents. Rockefeller says in a news release that he...

Calls for Tougher Chemical Regulation Follow West Virginia Spill

Jan 14 2014 // A chemical spill that left 300,000 people in West Virginia unable to drink their water is reviving calls for more stringent regulation of thousands of chemical storage sites in the U.S., especially those near water...

Chemical Firm, Local Water Company Sued Over West Virginia Spill

Jan 14 2014 // 13 Jan 2014 20:12 A West Virginia chemical maker was sued along with a local water company over a spill into the Elk River in the state capital, Charleston, that left businesses and residents without tap water for...

Top 2013 Jury Awards: Price-Fixing, Nursing Home Liability, Defamation

Jan 14 2014 // U.S. juries awarded three verdicts of $1 billion or more for the third straight year in 2013, topped by a $1.2 billion award against Dow Chemical Co., the largest ever in a price-fixing case. Second was $1.1 billion...

West Virginia Chemical Cleanup Continues; Probe of Leak Underway

Jan 13 2014 // West Virginia’s Governor sees the “light at the end of the tunnel” in the chemical leak that has compromised water service for about 300,000 in the state. Residents face a fifth day without drinking water...

California Tops ‘Judicial Hellhole’ List

Jan 13 2014 // California isn’t just a warm place to live, which is often the case even in winter, but it turns out the state is considered a “judicial hellhole.” The American Tort Reform Foundation issued its annual...

Construction’s Growing Role in Renewable Energy

Jan 13 2014 // California isn’t just a warm place to live, which is often the case even in winter, but it turns out the state is considered a “judicial hellhole.” The American Tort Reform Foundation issued its annual...