Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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....
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...
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...
States Prevail Over Industry with Tougher Chemical Security Laws
Jan 16 2008 // The federal government won’t override New Jersey’s chemical security laws, which are tougher than the national standard, thanks to a provision pushed by Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Lautenberg, D-N.J., was in Jersey...
Hanover Insurance to Acquire Chemical Industry Insurer Verlan
Jan 14 2008 // Worcester, Mass.-based The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has agreed to acquire Verlan Holdings, Inc., a Silver Spring, Maryland-based holding company that provides insurance to manufacturers and distributors of...
First Cancer Lawsuit Related to Texas Railroad Tie Plant Begins
Jan 10 2008 // Owners of a Texas plant that makes railroad ties were grossly negligent in failing to provide safety equipment for workers handling toxic chemicals, a pollution prevention expert testified in the first of a flurry of...
Report: Deadly Explosion at Fla. Chemical Plant Equal to Ton of TNT
Jan 7 2008 // The blast from an explosion that killed four workers at a Florida chemical plant last month was equal to a ton of TNT and blew debris as far as a mile away, a U.S. investigator said Thursday. “The blast at T2...
Fla. Chemical Plant Explodes, Half Mile Area Initially Evacuated
Dec 20 2007 // An explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Jacksonville, Fla., killed four people Wednesday and injured at least 14, fire officials said. Fire officials initially ordered a precautionary evacuation within a half-mile of...
