Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
3M Subpoenaed by Federal Grand Jury Over Alabama Chemical Discharges
Feb 4 2020 // 3M has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in connection to discharges from a chemical plant in northern Alabama that may not have complied with permit requirements. Michael Roman, the Minnesota-based company’s...
Kansas Company to Pay $1M Fine After Pleading Guilty in Chemical Cloud Case
Feb 3 2020 // A Kansas company pleaded guilty Friday to violating clean air rules and is expected to pay a $1 million fine for its role in a chemical gas cloud that formed over Atchison in 2016, causing more than 140 people to seek...
With Premiums Up Due to Accidents, Chemical, Refinery Plants Cut Back on Insurance
Jan 30 2020 // U.S. refineries and petrochemical plants are cutting back on insurance because several years of severe accidents have driven up the cost of coverage, industry and insurance sources said. With less insurance coverage for...
Environmental Group Warns ‘Forever Chemicals’ Widespread in U.S. Drinking Water
Jan 23 2020 // The contamination of U.S. drinking water with man-made “forever chemicals” is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on...
California Considers Declaring Common Pain Killer Carcinogen
Jan 22 2020 // A fight is coming to California over whether to list one of the world’s most common over-the-counter drugs as a carcinogen, echoing recent high-profile battles over things like alcohol and coffee. The drug is...
Newspaper Says Chemicals Found in Drinking Water Near South Carolina Air Base
Jan 17 2020 // A newspaper says it found high levels of a toxic chemical in the drinking water near one of South Carolina’s largest military bases. The Post and Courier paid University of Rhode Island researchers to examine tap...
Michigan Sues 3M, DuPont over ‘Forever’ Chemical Contamination in Water
Jan 16 2020 // Michigan on Jan. 14 sued 3M, DuPont and other companies for financial damages from contamination caused by potentially harmful “forever” chemicals that are turning up in drinking water across the industrial...
New York Bans Use of Toxic Chemical in Firefighting Foam
Jan 14 2020 // New York plans to restrict the use of firefighting foam that contains certain chemicals that have the potential to contaminate groundwater. Firefighting foam can contain polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are...
Three Workers Sickened by Cleaning Chemical at New Hampshire Amazon Warehouse
Jan 10 2020 // Three employees were sickened by a cleaning chemical at an Amazon warehouse in New Hampshire, fire officials said Thursday. Firefighters in Nashua responded at about 4 a.m. for a report of a chemical reaction that happened...
Steelworkers Union Sues to Reverse EPA Weakening of Chemical Plant Rules
Jan 10 2020 // The United Steelworkers sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court on Thursday in a bid to reverse its gutting of a safety rule at chemical plants, the union said. The largest U.S. industrial...
Some Fire Agencies in Wisconsin Ditching Hazardous Firefighting Foam
Jan 3 2020 // Some Wisconsin fire departments have stopped using firefighting foam that contains a group of man-made chemicals that have been linked to increased cholesterol and cancer risk, among other health hazards. The Per- and...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...
Alabama School System to Sue 3M Over Contamination
Jan 2 2020 // A north Alabama school system has taken the first step to sue 3M Co. over claims that chemicals are leaking from a closed landfill that is on school system property. News outlets reported that Decatur’s school system...
2 Workers Die While Cleaning Chemical Tank at Houston-Area Business
Dec 30 2019 // Two workers apparently became overcome by fumes and died while cleaning a chemical tank at a business near Houston, authorities said on Dec. 28. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a tweet that deputies responded to...
New York Tweaks Clean Water Plan as Suppliers Call for More Time
Dec 24 2019 // New York would not issue violations against certain water suppliers who notify the public that they have too-high levels of certain industrial and synthetic chemicals under the latest plan to be proposed by state...
Texas Regulators Want Stiffer Penalty for Owner of Port Neches Plant That Exploded
Dec 20 2019 // Environmental and watchdog groups have long criticized the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for taking it too easy on polluters — and the TCEQ has often countered that its job is to coax industrial facilities...
Steel Mill Sued over Chemical Spill in Indiana Lake
Dec 17 2019 // Two environmental groups are suing a steelmaker for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act at its northwestern Indiana facility more than 100 times in the past five years, including an August spill that killed more than...
11 People Treated for Injuries from Chemical Reaction at Alabama Plastic Plant
Dec 11 2019 // Medical workers treated nearly a dozen people and firefighters evacuated a building Monday after a chemical reaction caused injuries inside a manufacturing plant. The Montgomery Fire Department said the incident happened...
Texas City Again Issues Voluntary Evacuation Order over Chemical Plant Blast
Dec 6 2019 // Concerns over air quality have prompted a voluntary evacuation order that was in effect on Dec. 5 for a Texas Gulf Coast city where a pair of chemical plant explosions occurred last week. Port Neches issued the voluntary...
Texas Chemical Plant Shut by Explosions, Fire to Be Rebuilt, Company Says
Dec 5 2019 // Petrochemical maker TPC Group Inc will rebuild the Texas plant shut last week by devastating explosions that ignited fires that burned for six days, a spokeswoman said on Dec. 4. The last fire at the Port Neches plant was...
