Latest Chemicals Headlines

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

5 Killed, 8 Missing in China Chemical Plant Explosion

Jan 19 2023 // BEIJING (AP) — A massive explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China killed at least five people and left eight missing, state broadcaster CCTV said Monday.More than 30 other people were injured in the explosion...

Monsanto Moves to Halt School Demolition by Vermont City Suing It Over PCB Chemicals

Dec 22 2022 // BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The manufacturer of chemicals that are forcing Vermont’s largest city to tear down its high school wants to block the demolition, saying that would result in the destruction of...

3M Will Stop Producing ‘Forever Chemical’ PFAS by End of 2025

Dec 20 2022 // 3M Co., confronting regulatory pressure and lawsuits that threaten billions of dollars in damages, will stop making so-called forever chemicals and aim to discontinue their use in products by the end of 2025.The...

Officials Release Report on 2019 Explosions at Port Neches Chemical Plant

Dec 20 2022 // The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its final investigation report on the November 27, 2019, explosions and fires at the TPC Group Port Neches Operations facility Chemical Plant in Port...

3M Faces Claim in Netherlands Over ‘Forever Chemicals’ Pollution

Dec 14 2022 // The Netherlands’s government is exploring its legal options against chemical giant 3M over pollution in the Dutch part of the Scheldt River.For years, the company’s Antwerp, Belgium-based factory seeped...

Call to Phase Out ‘Forever Chemicals’ Gains Investor Momentum

Dec 5 2022 // Investors managing $8 trillion in assets have written to the world’s biggest chemicals companies urging them to phase out the use of so-called forever chemicals that can accumulate in the environment and remain...

California Sues Over ‘Forever Chemicals’ That Taint Water

Nov 14 2022 // A lawsuit filed by the state of California accuses 3M, Dupont and 16 smaller companies of covering up the harm caused to the environment and the public from chemicals manufactured by the firms that have over decades found...

Georgia Residents Return Home After Chemical Plant Fire Forced Evacuations

Nov 9 2022 // Residents were allowed to return home this week after they were evacuated when a large fire broke out Monday inside a chemical plant on the coast of Georgia. Authorities had feared nearby neighborhoods could have been hit...

Washington Chemical Processor Fined Nearly $200K for 60-Plus Safety Violations

Oct 19 2022 // A manufacturing company that works with dangerous chemicals in Moses Lake, Washington, faces $192,620 in fines for 46 serious and 17 general safety and health violations.Two Rivers Terminal LLC formulates products for...

District Sues Chemical Manufacturer Over Anacostia River Pesticide Pollution

Oct 17 2022 // The District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court Thursday against chemical manufacturer Velsicol Chemical, LLC, claiming it violated city environmental laws by polluting a major waterway, the Anacostia River...

Chemical Plant Owner to Pay $187M for Maine River Pollution Cleanup

Oct 13 2022 // PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The owner of a former chemical plant that dumped mercury into the Penobscot River must pay at least $187 million to remove the contamination in a resolution to a decades-long legal battle.A federal...

Connecticut Lab Faces $907K in OSHA Fines Over Claims of Workers’ Chemical Exposure

Sep 27 2022 // For several months, employees at a Manchester, Connecticut environmental laboratory complained to management about faulty ventilation systems and about symptoms related to exposure to ethylene chloride, a highly hazardous...

Watchdog: Chemical Safety Agency Impeded by Staff Shortage

Sep 13 2022 // The federal agency that investigates chemical accidents is hindered by a lack of staffing, leadership disputes and a backlog of investigations that threaten its ability to protect people and the environment, according to a...

Biden Administration to Declare ‘Forever Chemicals’ Hazardous Substances

Aug 30 2022 // The Biden administration said on Friday it will propose designating certain “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the nation’s Superfund program, in a bid to spark cleanup of countless sites...

Cocktail of Chemicals Contributed to Massive Fish Die-off on Oder River: German Official

Aug 24 2022 // Several substances seem to have contributed to the massive fish die-off in the Oder River that forms much of Germany’s border with Poland, a German official said Monday.Numerous theories have been floated about the...

Japanese Chemical Tanker Crashes Into Cargo Ship off Coast of Japan

Aug 22 2022 // A Japanese chemical tanker ship crashed into a cargo ship off the coast of southwestern Japan, the coast guard said Saturday.No one was injured among the six Japanese crew members aboard the tanker Ryoshinmaru and 14...

U.S.-Based 3M Faces More Costs After $581M Chemical Cleanup Pact in Belgium

Jul 8 2022 // 3M Co. still faces the prospect of additional costs to resolve contamination liabilities in Belgium after reaching an agreement to clean up and remediate PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals used in many consumer goods, a...

‘Forever Chemicals’ Pose Risk Even at Very Low Levels: EPA

Jun 20 2022 // The Environmental Protection Agency is warning that two nonstick and stain-resistant compounds found in drinking water are more dangerous than previously thought – and pose health risks even at levels so low they cannot...

Nebraska Chemical Plant Fire Prompts Evacuation

Jun 1 2022 // A three-alarm fire that raged through a Nebraska chemical plant was extinguished by Tuesday morning and nearby residents who were initially evacuated were allowed to return to their homes, authorities said.Thick smoke...

Massachusetts Joins States Suing Makers, Marketers of ‘Forever Chemicals’

May 27 2022 // Massachusetts has sued more than a dozen companies involved in the manufacture or marketing of so-called forever chemicals, alleging they knowingly polluted the environment and endangered public health, state Attorney...