Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Explosion at Louisiana Chemical Plant Injures 6
Jan 28 2022 // An explosion on Jan. 26 at a southwest Louisiana chemical plant has left at least six people with minor injuries. The explosion occurred at an empty ethylene dichloride storage tank shortly before 11 a.m., a spokesperson...
Maine Finds ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Wells in Kittery Homes
Jan 28 2022 // Testing wells in a Maine town contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) and the chemicals may have traveled through well systems and drinking water, the state’s department of environmental protection found. Last month,...
Chemical Explosion at Illinois Manufacturing Plant Kills 1, Leaves 1 Injured
Jan 25 2022 // A chemical explosion on Jan. 21 at a northern Illinois manufacturing plant killed one person and left another critically injured, authorities said. The incident occurred about 10:45 a.m. when two employees at the W. R....
Crews Keep New Jersey Chemical Plant Fire From Spreading
Jan 18 2022 // A dramatic fire near a chemical plant burned through the night and into Saturday in northern New Jersey but led to no evacuation orders or serious injuries — just heavy smoke that was seen and smelled in nearby New York...
Judge Gives Preliminary OK to Firm’s $34M ‘Forever Chemical’ Settlement in Vermont
Jan 12 2022 // A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $34 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against a chemical company over contamination of groundwater and soil in a southern Vermont community. Notices are going...
Will Forever Chemicals, PFAS, Lead to Never-Ending Lawsuits?
Nov 16 2021 // Claims and regulatory actions involving per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are continuing to evolve at a rapid pace across the country. From the ongoing multi-district litigation in District Court of South...
GenX Chemical from Chemours Plant Not Found in Blood, But Other Compounds Present
Nov 15 2021 // A potentially dangerous compound linked to a chemical plant in North Carolina was not found in the bloodstreams of nearby residents, but high levels of similar chemicals were detected, according to a recent study funded by...
Vermont Company to Pay $34M in Chemical Contamination Lawsuit
Nov 15 2021 // A chemical company has agreed to pay $34 million to compensate residents of a Vermont town for chemical contamination in groundwater and soil. The ChemFab plant in Bennington, owned by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics,...
Chemical Giant to Pay $50M-Plus to Resolve Air Pollution Concerns in Texas, Iowa
Oct 21 2021 // Federal officials say three U.S. subsidiaries of Dutch chemical giant LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (Lyondell) have agreed to make upgrades and perform compliance measures estimated to cost $50 million to resolve...
EPA Launches Strategy to Regulate Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’
Oct 20 2021 // The Biden administration said it is launching a broad strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions that are used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting...
3M Offers $98M to Settle Tennessee River ‘Forever’ Chemicals Claims
Oct 20 2021 // Industrial conglomerate 3M Co on Tuesday said it had agreed to pay about $98.4 million to settle claims that it contaminated the Tennessee River with toxic chemicals. 3M agreed to resolve a lawsuit by environmental group...
Maine to Seek ‘Forever Chemical’ Contamination at Many Sites
Oct 15 2021 // Environmental regulators in Maine will soon undertake a statewide investigation to find concentrations of long-lasting environmental pollutants. The investigation stems from the state’s efforts to mitigate a class of...
Northrop Grumman Knew Chemical Contaminated Missouri Homes: Lawsuit
Oct 1 2021 // Defense company Northrop Grumman knew for more than a decade that chemicals from a site it owns near Missouri’s Springfield-Branson Airport were contaminating groundwater in surrounding property, according to a...
Reports: Explosion at Louisiana Chemical Plant Injures 5
Sep 29 2021 // Five people were injured in an explosion at a Louisiana chemical plant, news outlets reported. The explosion at the Westlake petrochemical plant near Lake Charles was reported late on Sept. 27, Louisiana State Police...
Maine Enacts Law That Will Ban Use of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in All Products by 2030
Aug 20 2021 // Maine last month enacted a law that makes it the first U.S. state to ban the use of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in nearly all products. PFAS are commonly referred to as “forever chemicals”...
Filtration System Blamed for Chemical Leak at Texas Water Park
Aug 6 2021 // A Texas water park says a chemical exposure that sent dozens of people to hospitals was caused by “improper installation” of a water filtration system. Six Flags officials said a third-party service company...
Forgotten Oil and Gas Wells Lingering, Leaking Toxic Chemicals
Aug 3 2021 // Rusted pipes litter the sandy fields of Ashley Williams Watt’s cattle ranch in windswept West Texas. The corroded skeletons are all that remain of hundreds of abandoned oil wells that were drilled long before her...
2 Dead; 7 Injured After Leak at Texas Chemical Plant
Jul 29 2021 // Two people are dead and dozens more were injured after a chemical leak at a Houston-area plant, officials said. The incident happened about 7:35 p.m. on July 27 and involved an acetic acid leak at the LyondellBasell...
Incident at Texas Dow Chemical Plant Prompts Shelter Order
Jul 22 2021 // Emergency officials issued evacuation or shelter-in-place orders in the morning July 21 for some people in a Houston-area city because of a “chemical incident” at a plant in the area. The shelter-in-place order...
DuPont, Spinoffs to Pay $50M to Delaware for ‘Forever Chemical’ Cleanup
Jul 21 2021 // DuPont Co. and two spinoffs will pay at least $50 million to Delaware to help clean up toxic chemicals, the Delaware Department of Justice announced. It’s the first time the state’s Department of Justice has...
