Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
In Flood-Struck Colorado, Concerns About Fracking Spills
Sep 19 2013 // Contaminated water spilling from flooded oil and gas drilling sites in Colorado is refocusing attention on the environmental risks surrounding America’s fracking boom. Floods that have devastated north-central...
BP Texas Refinery Neighbors Seek Billions at Toxic-Gas Trial
Sep 11 2013 // BP Plc faces the first of almost 48,000 toxic exposure claims from neighbors of a Texas refinery who say they’ll give the billions of dollars in punitive damages they’re seeking to charity if they win at...
Senate Bill on Chemical Safety Runs Into Roadbloack
Aug 1 2013 // A bipartisan measure on federal toxic chemical standards would undercut state efforts, the head of a Senate committee said in comments that may imperil a compromise to overhaul U.S. consumer-safety regulations. Senator...
Obama Administration Under Fire for Delay on Chemical Plant Safety
Jul 16 2013 // The Obama administration’s lack of action to impose recommended changes to make refineries, chemical factories and sugar plants safer is set to get a public rebuke from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. The independent...
Sites of 2 Deadly Louisiana Plant Explosions Still Closed
Jul 3 2013 // Plants that were the sites of two chemical explosions a day apart in south Louisiana remain closed, and it could be months before federal investigators determine the causes of the blasts that killed three workers and sent...
Agency Investigating Plant Blast Finds Lax Chemical Regulation
Jun 28 2013 // A federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant will tell a Senate committee that regulation of the dangerous chemicals used in the industry fall under a “patchwork” of standards...
Report: Louisiana Plant Explosion Released Toxic Chemicals
Jun 28 2013 // The deadly June 13 explosion and fire at the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, La., released more than 62,000 pounds of toxic chemicals during the accident that killed two workers and injured 114 others,...
Investigators to Examine Heat Exchanger at Louisiana Blast Site
Jun 26 2013 // State and federal officials investigating the cause of the deadly blast on June 13 at the Williams Companies Inc. plant near Gonzales, La., plan to inspect a key element of the facility that one federal investigator said...
Indianapolis Facing Heavy Costs Over Pool Evacuation
Jun 24 2013 // Dozens of people who were sickened by fumes after a chemical reaction at an Indianapolis public pool a year ago have filed claims against the city, raising the possibility that the accident and ensuing evacuation could...
2nd Victim Dies After Blast at Geismar, Louisiana Chemical Plant
Jun 17 2013 // An explosion and fire at a Louisiana chemical plant claimed a second victim on June 14 as federal authorities were piecing together the cause of the blast that injured dozens more. Scott Thrower, 47, of St. Amant, died at...
1 Dead in Blast, Fire at Louisiana Chemical Plant
Jun 14 2013 // One person was killed as the result of an explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Geismar, La. on June 13 The Times-Picayune reported that 77 people were taken to the hospital with injuries. Louisiana State Police...
Chemical Shippers Lose Court Bid to Derail Train Safety Technology
Jun 13 2013 // Chemical shippers failed to show any business harm from a regulation requiring railroads to deploy new train-safety technology, a U.S. appeals court said, throwing out a lawsuit challenging the 2012 rule. The Arlington,...
Montreal Protocol Shows the Way for Action on Climate Change
Jun 12 2013 // A new deal to curb carbon emissions could copy features from the Montreal Protocol, which the United States and China favored over its Kyoto counterpart in an agreement on greenhouse gases at the weekend. The 1987 Montreal...
Fracking Companies Silence Water Complaints With Sealed Settlements
Jun 10 2013 // Chris and Stephanie Hallowich were sure drilling for natural gas near their Pennsylvania home was to blame for the headaches, burning eyes and sore throats they suffered after the work began. The companies insisted...
Inquiry Into Texas Blast Plagued by Regulatory Gap
Apr 30 2013 // Federal and state officials investigating the April 17 deadly blast at a Central Texas fertilizer company are trying to determine whether a fire at the plant could have ignited a supply of ammonium nitrate. But how much of...
What Did Regulators Know Before Texas Plant Exploded?
Apr 19 2013 // Despite being located within a short walk of a nursing home, school and residential buildings, West Fertilizer Co. in central Texas had no blast walls and had filed no contingency plan to the Environmental Protection...
Supreme Court to Hear Stanford Ponzi Lawsuits, Workplace Bias Case
Jan 21 2013 // The U.S. Supreme Court last Friday agreed to hear four new cases, addressing matters as diverse as the reach of a law designed to combat chemical weapons, and whether lawyers could be sued for having once represented...
Residents Near Kentucky Train Derailment Sue
Nov 27 2012 // Residents affected by a train derailment and fire that evacuated a small town near Louisville, Kentucky have filed a lawsuit against the railroad and cleanup contractors. The lawsuit is the first to be brought against...
Report Links DuPont West Virginia Plant Chemical, Residents’ High Cholesterol
Oct 30 2012 // A science panel said it has found probable links between high cholesterol in mid-Ohio Valley residents and their exposure to a chemical used by a DuPont plant in West Virginia. The C8 Science Panel released its final...
ACE Adds Chemical Withdrawal Expense Endorsement to Ace PaC Form
Sep 13 2012 // ACE USA, the U.S-.based retail operations of the ACE Group, has expanded coverage for buyers of its combined general liability and pollution policy form—ACE PaC—designed for mid-sized clients in the chemical industry...
