Latest Chemicals Headlines

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

Last Stockpile of Chemical Nerve Agent Destroyed in Kentucky

Apr 22 2022 // The last stockpiles of a deadly chemical agent in the U.S. have been safely eliminated, according to Kentucky officials in charge of destroying the Cold War-era weapons.The final M55 rocket containing VX nerve agent was...

Residents Given ‘All-Clear’ After Louisiana Chemical Leak

Apr 20 2022 // Residents near a chemical plant outside Baton Rouge have been given the “all-clear” after a chemical leak prompted orders for them to shelter in place, authorities said. A fire caused the chlorine leak late...

4 Companies Cited for Louisiana Chemical Plant Explosion

Mar 28 2022 // Federal labor regulators have cited four employers for safety violations related to an explosion that injured workers at a Louisiana chemical plant.The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health...

Nevada Casino to Pay $8M For Serving Chemicals Instead of Beer

Mar 28 2022 // A jury in Las Vegas has awarded $8 million to a middle school special education teacher who sued after being permanently injured when he was served cleaning solvents instead of tap beer at a casino bar.Lon Enwright, 38,...

Chemical Analysis Shows Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Grapes and Wines in Western U.S.

Mar 16 2022 // NEWSWISE – As wildfire season in the West grows in length and severity, it is taking a toll on the wine industry through the effects of wildfire smoke on the quality of wine grapes. Volatile compounds in the smoke from...

Chevron Phillips Chemical Agrees to Reduce Air Pollution at 3 Texas Plants

Mar 9 2022 // Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP has agreed to make upgrades and perform compliance measures estimated to cost $118 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control laws...

Report: Nearly a Third of U.S. Hazardous Chemicals Facilities Exposed to Climate Change Dangers

Mar 3 2022 // A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stating that climate change is leading to increasingly irreversible impacts, with a narrowing window to adapt to it, is garnering a lot of reaction.The IPCC...

Maine Farmers Want Ban on ‘Forever Chemical’ Sludge in Fields

Mar 3 2022 // Maine farmers want lawmakers to pass a bill banning fertilizer and compost containing wastewater sludge that’s been linked to toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions.Sometimes called...

Delaware Residents Near Guard Base Report High Levels of ‘Forever Chemicals’

Feb 23 2022 // Residents living near an Air National Guard base in northern Delaware have average blood levels of certain toxic manmade chemicals that are significantly higher than the national average, according to a report by federal...

Maine Eyes Additional Funding to Fight ‘Forever Chemicals’

Feb 22 2022 // Maine lawmakers are going to consider more funding to fight “forever chemicals” as more farms discover contamination.Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — known as PFAS — have been found in...

Massachusetts Firefighters With Cancer Sue Companies Over ‘Forever Chemicals’

Feb 18 2022 // Fifteen retired and active-duty firefighters from Massachusetts say in a federal lawsuit filed against two dozen companies that so-called forever chemicals in their gear and in firefighting foam manufactured by the...

Michigan Farm’s Beef Found to Contain Toxic Chemicals

Feb 1 2022 // Beef produced at a small Michigan farm was found to contain toxic “forever chemicals” after the cattle were fed crops grown with fertilizer made from contaminated wastewater biosolids, state officials said Jan....

Explosion at Louisiana Chemical Plant Injures 6

Jan 28 2022 // An explosion on Jan. 26 at a southwest Louisiana chemical plant has left at least six people with minor injuries.The explosion occurred at an empty ethylene dichloride storage tank shortly before 11 a.m., a spokesperson...

Maine Finds ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Wells in Kittery Homes

Jan 28 2022 // Testing wells in a Maine town contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) and the chemicals may have traveled through well systems and drinking water, the state’s department of environmental protection found.Last month,...

Chemical Explosion at Illinois Manufacturing Plant Kills 1, Leaves 1 Injured

Jan 25 2022 // A chemical explosion on Jan. 21 at a northern Illinois manufacturing plant killed one person and left another critically injured, authorities said.The incident occurred about 10:45 a.m. when two employees at the W. R....

Crews Keep New Jersey Chemical Plant Fire From Spreading

Jan 18 2022 // A dramatic fire near a chemical plant burned through the night and into Saturday in northern New Jersey but led to no evacuation orders or serious injuries — just heavy smoke that was seen and smelled in nearby New York...

Judge Gives Preliminary OK to Firm’s $34M ‘Forever Chemical’ Settlement in Vermont

Jan 12 2022 // A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $34 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against a chemical company over contamination of groundwater and soil in a southern Vermont community.Notices are going...

Will Forever Chemicals, PFAS, Lead to Never-Ending Lawsuits?

Nov 16 2021 // Claims and regulatory actions involving per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are continuing to evolve at a rapid pace across the country. From the ongoing multi-district litigation in District Court of South...

GenX Chemical from Chemours Plant Not Found in Blood, But Other Compounds Present

Nov 15 2021 // A potentially dangerous compound linked to a chemical plant in North Carolina was not found in the bloodstreams of nearby residents, but high levels of similar chemicals were detected, according to a recent study funded by...

Vermont Company to Pay $34M in Chemical Contamination Lawsuit

Nov 15 2021 // A chemical company has agreed to pay $34 million to compensate residents of a Vermont town for chemical contamination in groundwater and soil.The ChemFab plant in Bennington, owned by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics,...