Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
India Investigator Recommends Moving S. Korea-Owned Plant After Gas Leak
Jul 7 2020 // CHENNAI/SEOUL – An investigation into a deadly gas leak at a South Korean-owned chemical plant in southern India that killed 12 people in May recommended the factory be moved away from inhabited areas, according to its...
Health Experts Caution Over Disinfectants, Cleaning Methods Used in Rush to Reopen
Jun 16 2020 // Businesses across the U.S. have begun intensive Covid-19 disinfection regimens, exposing returning workers and consumers to some chemicals that are largely untested for human health, a development that’s alarming...
Derailed Train in Oklahoma Spills Toxic Chemical, Spurs Evacuations
Jun 15 2020 // Dozens of residents of a small Oklahoma city were temporarily evacuated early on June 13 after a train derailed and spilled a hazardous chemical, officials said. The train went off the tracks at around 2 a.m. in Wynnewood,...
Iowa Chemical Plant to Pay $80K for 2019 Spill that Hurt Worker
Jun 8 2020 // A Waterloo, Iowa, chemical plant will pay a nearly $80,000 civil penalty to settle violations of federal Clean Air Act following a spill last year that hurt a worker there, federal officials said. The federal Environmental...
EPA Report: North Carolina Chemours Plant Chemical Release Went Unchecked for Years
Jun 3 2020 // Environmental regulators did not inspect a North Carolina chemical facility for eight years even though it was under a federal agreement to prevent the release of a potentially toxic substance known as PFAS. WRAL reports...
2 Companies Fined $1M Each Over Kansas Chemical Leak
May 29 2020 // Two companies that caused a chlorine gas leak over Atchison, Kansas, in 2106 have each been fined $1 million for violating federal clean air laws. Harcros Chemicals Inc., and MGP Ingredients Inc., had pleaded guilty to...
OSHA Cites, Fines Texas Chemical Plant Owner $514.6K After Explosions, Fire
May 28 2020 // A chemical manufacturer has been cited by federal officials for workplace safety hazards and fined more than $500,000 after a fire and explosions at its Port Neches, Texas, plant in November 2019. The U.S. Department of...
Officials: Harmful Firefighting Foam Chemicals Found in More Wisconsin Wells
Apr 16 2020 // Wisconsin state officials say additional private wells around Marinette and Peshtigo have elevated levels of harmful chemicals which may be linked to a firefighting foam manufacturer. Johnson Controls and its subsidiary,...
Delaware Judge Dismisses Chemours Lawsuit Against DuPont
Apr 1 2020 // A Delaware judge has granted the DuPont Co.’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spinoff company Chemours. Vice Chancellor Sam...
Chemours Claims Against DuPont Over Environmental Liabilities Left to Arbitration
Apr 1 2020 // A Delaware judge has granted the DuPont Co.’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spinoff company Chemours. Vice Chancellor Sam...
Massachusetts Contractor to Pay for Clean-Up Costs Following Chemical Explosion
Mar 26 2020 // A Sutton, Mass.-based contractor has agreed to pay $120,000 to reimburse the state for the cost of responding to a 2017 explosion and fire of a backyard shed at a Shrewsbury residential property, Massachusetts Attorney...
Louisiana Chemical Plant Asks Regulators to Allow Higher Emissions of Potential Toxin
Mar 18 2020 // A Louisiana chemical plant that agreed to lower its emissions of a potentially harmful toxin now wants to raise them based on research indicating the compound is safe at much higher levels than what federal environmental...
Arkema, Executives Accused of Failures in Chemical Fire at Texas Plant
Feb 28 2020 // Jurors in the criminal case against the U.S. arm of a French company on Feb. 27 heard it routinely stored combustible chemicals where floodwaters could reach them and failed to alert emergency workers as toxic fires...
Texas Sues TPC Group, Owner of Port Neches Chemical Plant That Exploded
Feb 25 2020 // Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued TPC Group over environmental violations associated with the Nov. 27 explosion at the company’s Port Neches chemical plant, a blast that prompted widespread mandatory...
But Wait. Here’s ‘The Rest of The Story’ on Buffett’s Lubrizol
Feb 24 2020 // In his firm’s annual report released this weekend, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett included a side note on one of the companies his conglomerate bought in 2011 for $9 billion, a company called...
Trial Over Arkema Chemical Plant Fire During Harvey Set to Begin
Feb 18 2020 // Hurricane Harvey’s historic flooding in 2017 overwhelmed power systems at Arkema Inc.’s chemical plant in suburban Houston, eventually causing organic peroxides made at the facility to catch fire and explode,...
Massachusetts Chemical Plant Re-Opens a Day After a Series of Explosions
Feb 18 2020 // A Massachusetts chemical manufacturing plant re-opened Friday, a day after at least six explosions at the facility forced workers to evacuate and blew a hole in the roof. Seqens North America, formerly PCI Synthesis, in...
Rock Slide Blamed for Fiery Derailment of Kentucky Train, Chemical Leak
Feb 18 2020 // A large rock slide on a rain-saturated mountain caused a fiery train derailment Thursday morning in eastern Kentucky that briefly trapped two crew members and caused a chemical leak into a river, authorities said. Two crew...
Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Creating New Restrictions on Firefighting Foam
Feb 10 2020 // Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has signed a bill that imposes new restrictions on firefighting foam to curb pollution from PFAS chemicals. The bill prohibits the use of foam containing intentionally added PFAS except in...
Manufacturer to Halt Production of Pesticide Linked to Brain Damage in Children
Feb 9 2020 // The manufacturer of a commonly used pesticide that has been linked to brain damage in children will stop making the chemical this year. Corteva Inc. said Thursday that it will end production of chlorpyrifos by the end of...
