Latest Chemicals Headlines

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

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 Glasscock...

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 Glasscock...

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 Lubrizol.Lubrizol...

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...

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...