Latest Chemicals Headlines

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

Feds Say Texas Deaths Show DuPont Has ‘Failed’ Safety Program

Jul 13 2015 // U.S. regulators on took DuPont to task for a massive gas leak last year that killed four workers at a plant in Texas, placing the chemical company in its “severe violator enforcement program” and saying the...

Ex-Chemical Board Safety Chairman Could Face Probe

Jul 9 2015 // Two House members are seeking a Justice Department investigation of the former head of the federal board that investigates chemical accidents, saying they believe he made multiple false statements while testifying before...

Judge Won’t Recuse Prosecutors on West Virginia Chemical Spill Trial

Jun 30 2015 // A judge will let federal prosecutors keep working on a criminal case over a chemical spill last year in West Virginia, shooting down arguments that prosecutors should be recused from the case because they were among the...

Congress Asks Why Takata Air Bag Defect Went Unresolved So Long

Jun 3 2015 // Lawmakers on Tuesday sought answers from Takata Corp. on just how much is being done to to find the root cause of an air-bag defect that caused dozens of explosions and at least six deaths.“I have serious concerns...

Prosecutors Say No to Moving West Virginia Chemical Spill Criminal Case

Jun 1 2015 // Prosecutors oppose a motion by former executives asking a judge to move their criminal case over a chemical spill.In Charleston federal court May 29, prosecutors wrote that ex-Freedom Industries officials Gary Southern and...

Bankruptcy Judge Rejects Freedom Industries’ Chemical Spill Settlement

May 18 2015 // A judge has rejected a $6.7 million bankruptcy plan by the company behind a January 2014 chemical spill in West Virginia.In a federal bankruptcy court filing last week, Judge Ronald Pearson said Freedom Industries and...

DuPont’s Teflon Spin-Off Plan Worries Neighbors of West Virginia Chemical Plant

May 8 2015 // DuPont Co.’s plan to spin off its Teflon unit is spurring concern on the West Virginia-Ohio border that the new company won’t cover medical payments for residents sickened by a chemical long-used at the...

Court Fight over Dow Chemical Herbicide Widens to 15 States

Apr 30 2015 // A court fight over use of a new Dow Chemical herbicide on genetically engineered U.S. corn and soybean crops is growing to encompass 15 Midwestern states after the company recently won federal approval for more widespread...

Florida Houses Passes Bill to Study, Regulate Fracking in State

Apr 29 2015 // The Florida House passed a bill Monday to study and regulate fracking, as well as prevent local governments from banning the oil and gas drilling practice.Democrats strongly opposed the bill, saying hydraulic fracturing...

West Virginia Governor Signs Scaled Back Version of 2014 Water Safety Law

Mar 30 2015 // Less than a year after signing legislation with new safeguards in response to a 2014 chemical spill that prompted a tap-water ban for 300,000 people, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill Friday to trim...

Obama Gets Chemical Safety Board Chief to Resign

Mar 29 2015 // The head of a U.S. industrial oversight agency who was dogged by congressional criticism has resigned at President Barack Obama’s request, the White House said.U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso...

West Virginia Chemical Spill Settlement for Community Projects Dropped

Mar 27 2015 // Lawyers for businesses and people affected by a massive chemical spill last year say a settlement to fund community projects is no longer being considered.In June 2014, lawyers for the groups affected by the Freedom...

Oil Industry Sues to Block U.S. Fracking Regulations

Mar 23 2015 // U.S. drillers already reeling from a six- month drop in oil prices denounced new U.S. fracking regulations as costly and unnecessary, and quickly met them with a lawsuit.After three years of debate, the U.S. Interior...

Obama Administration Releases Regulations on Fracking on Federal Lands

Mar 22 2015 // The Obama administration issued the first federal regulations for fracking since the drilling technique fueled a domestic energy boom, requiring extensive disclosures of the chemicals used on public land.After years of...

Former Freedom Owners Plead Guilty in West Virginia Chemical Spill Case

Mar 18 2015 // Two former owners of Freedom Industries pleaded guilty on Monday to environmental violations stemming from last year’s Charleston chemical spill that prompted a temporary tap water ban for 300,000 residents.At...

West Virginia Lawmakers Send Rollback of Chemical Spill Law to House Floor

Mar 12 2015 // A West Virginia House panel narrowly approved a bill to scale back protections to prevent chemical spills from sullying water supplies.The January 2014 chemical spill that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 residents...

Increase in Kentucky Fracking Prompts Lawmakers to Update Rules

Feb 26 2015 // As Kentucky mines less coal and produces more natural gas, state lawmakers want to update the environmental protection rules that drilling companies are required to follow.But some landowners worry the state’s rush...

Former West Virginia Chemical Company Execs. Request Delay of Trials

Feb 12 2015 // Four former executives of a West Virginia chemical company are asking a judge to delay their trials on charges stemming from the January 2014 chemical spill.Attorneys for former Freedom Industries President Gary Southern...

Ex-Owner of West Virginia Chemical Co. Responsible for Spill Requests Trial Delay

Feb 6 2015 // The former owner of a chemical company that fouled drinking water used by hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents wants his trial delayed. Attorneys for Charles Herzing cite the heft of documents they must review...

New Charge Filed for Ex-President of Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill

Jan 26 2015 // A former Freedom Industries executive charged in a West Virginia chemical spill is facing a new federal fraud charge stemming from the company’s bankruptcy.A federal grand jury in Beckley handed up a superseding...