Latest Chemicals Headlines

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

Democrats Press Labor Department on OSHA Rule on Chemical Exposure

Jul 25 2008 // Leading lawmakers this week accused the Bush administration of acting in secret to make it harder to limit worker exposure to carcinogens and other dangerous chemicals in the workplace.The Labor Department is trying...

Insurance Glitch Nixes Dow Chemical Land Gift to West Virginia University

Jul 21 2008 // Dow Chemicals Co.’s plan to give West Virginia University 58 acres of South Charleston real estate and lab space valued at $25 million has fallen through. Dow’s Union Carbide subsidiary blamed the cancellation...

Florida Air Controllers File Injury Reports, 5 Sue over Chemical Exposure

Jul 17 2008 // Five Florida air traffic controllers are suing roofing contractors claiming they lost their jobs after being unable to work because of toxic chemical exposure.The five employees, Barbara Cooper, Shawn Fields, Dan Kersh,...

California AG Sues Cement Plant for Hexavalent Chromium Exposure

Jul 8 2008 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and District Attorney Rod Pacheco sued TXI International, a Riverside, Calif.-based cement plant, for exposing people to the potent carcinogen hexavalent chromium without...

Parents Sue Companies Over Baby Bottles

Jun 20 2008 // Four Ohio parents have filed a federal lawsuit against makers of baby bottles, claiming the bottles were made from a harmful chemical that sparked congressional hearings and prompted the world’s largest retailer to...

Feds Cite Florida Chemical Plant in Fatal Blast

Jun 20 2008 // The owners of a Florida chemical plant where a December explosion killed four workers were cited June 18, accused of violating federal safety standards.A report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found...

Texas Chemical Plant Explosion Leaves 1 Dead, 6 Injured

Jun 13 2008 // An explosion at a Goodyear chemical plant in Houston killed a worker and injured six others on June 11.The body of the worker, whose name was not released, was found under debris about seven hours after the 7:30 a.m. blast...

Local Officials in Louisiana in Dark About Chemicals on Trains

May 27 2008 // Railway officials do not publicize the types of dangerous chemicals that pass every day through communities like Lafayette, La., citing safety concerns in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, world.But even first responders often...

$3M Ohio Mold Decision Kindles Coverage Questions

May 19 2008 // Insurance professionals took note recently when a Franklin County, Ohio judge awarded $3 million plus legal costs to a family whose central-Ohio home became overrun with toxic mold, presumably caused by the...

Feds: Lack of Safeguards Led to Mass. Chemical Explosion

May 15 2008 // Federal investigators have concluded that a lack of company safeguards such as alarms and automatic shutoffs led to a massive chemical plant explosion in Danvers.The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is expected to issue a report...

3M Could Pay $56M to Clean Up Twin Cities Sites

Apr 21 2008 // 3M Co. will probably pay between $50 million and $56 million to clean up sites in the eastern Twin Cities that have been contaminated by chemicals that were once used in some of the company’s best-known products.The...

U.S. Report Questions Safety of Chemical Used in Plastic Bottles

Apr 17 2008 // A chemical used to make baby bottles and other shatterproof plastic containers could be linked to a range of hormonal problems, a preliminary government report has found.The report was greeted by some environmental groups...

3M Could Pay $56 million to Clean Up Eastern Twin Cities Sites

Apr 9 2008 // 3M Co. will probably pay between $50 million and $56 million to clean up sites in the eastern Twin Cities that have been contaminated by chemicals that were once used in some of the company’s best-known products.The...

Mass. Fire Marshal: Exploded Danvers Plant’s Chemicals Exceeded Limit

Mar 13 2008 // A Danvers, Mass. chemical plant that exploded in November 2006 was storing at least twice the combustible substances it was permitted to keep, according to a report released this week.The facility was licensed by the town...

U.S. Court Dismisses ‘Agent Orange’ Case Against Chemical Firms

Feb 22 2008 // A federal appeals court Friday upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a civil lawsuit against major U.S. chemical companies brought by Vietnamese plaintiffs over the use of dioxin, or “agent orange,” during the...

Jury Rejects Cancer Patient’s Claims in Texas Railroad Tie Lawsuit

Feb 13 2008 // Jurors in Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb. 11 rejected a cancer survivor’s claim that toxic chemicals from a Texas railroad tie plant where her husband worked caused the disease that required the removal of her...

Ala. Supreme Court Reverses, Relaxes Rules on Chemical Injury Suits

Feb 10 2008 // In a 5-4 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed direction and allowed lawsuits from workers who become ill many years after being exposed to dangerous chemicals.The majority said the two-year statute of limitations...

Alabama Supreme Court Reverses Course, Offers Hope to Ill Workers

Jan 30 2008 // In a 5-4 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed direction and allowed lawsuits from workers who become ill many years after being exposed to dangerous chemicals.The majority said the two-year statute of limitations...

S.C. Company Wants Neighbors to Help Pay for Pollution Cleanup

Jan 21 2008 // A South Carolina company being sued by neighbors for polluting groundwater around its plant in Myrtle Beach is asking a court to force those neighbors to help pay for testing and cleanup of contamination.AVX Corp. says in...

Fire, Explosions Reported at Louisville, Ky. Chemical Plant

Jan 17 2008 // A Kentucky chemical plant was evacuated Tuesday following a fire and a series of explosions, but no injuries were reported, the company said.The blaze was reported about 10 a.m. EST at the BASF Corp. plant, which makes...