Latest Chemicals Headlines
All the headlines from our Chemicals Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Massive Fire Breaks Out at Texas Chemical Facility
Apr 8 2021 // A huge industrial fire broke out at a chemical facility in Channelview, Texas, around 4 p.m. on April 7, Harris County officials said. A shelter in place order was issued for neighborhoods near the K-Solve Chemicals plant...
Chemical Site Cleanup on Maine River to Cost More Than $180M
Mar 25 2021 // A settlement that is pending approval from a federal judge would require the former owner of a shuttered chemical plant in Maine to spend more than $180 million to clean up mercury contamination. The settlement concerns...
‘Forever Chemicals’ in 60 Closed Minnesota Landfills Contaminating Groundwater
Mar 22 2021 // Pollution regulators said that contamination from toxic man-made “forever chemicals” has been detected in groundwater at nearly 60 closed landfills in Minnesota, with amounts exceeding levels for safe drinking...
Georgia City Resident Sues Over Chemical Discharge in Water
Mar 17 2021 // A Georgia city, a textile manufacturer and others are being sued by a former Summerville, Georgia, city council member over a water crisis that forced Summerville to distribute bottled water for weeks and still could cost...
Maine Man Sues Paper Mill Over Levels of ‘Forever Chemicals’
Mar 11 2021 // A Maine man is suing a paper mill company that operates in the state about levels of long-lasting chemicals in wells and elsewhere. Nathan Saunders of Fairfield filed the lawsuit Friday against Boston-based Sappi North...
Environmental Settlement of $121K Reached with Washington Chemical Company
Feb 10 2021 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with Emerald Kalama Chemical after inspectors say they found hazardous waste storage and handling violations it its Kalama, Wash., facility. The chemical...
DuPont, Chemours Reach Pact Over Liability for ‘Forever Chemicals’ PFAs Pollution
Jan 25 2021 // The Dupont Co. and its spinoff business Chemours have agreed to resolve legal disputes over environmental liabilities for pollution related to man-made chemicals associated with an increased risk of cancer and other health...
Texas Bills Push Tougher Chemical Tank Rules to Stem Explosions, Spills
Jan 8 2021 // Deer Park, Texas, residents sheltered in place. The Houston Ship Channel shut down. Toxic chemicals spilled during Hurricane Harvey. And just last month, seven people were injured in a Corpus Christi fire. These are the...
1 Worker Killed, 3 Injured by West Virginia Chemical Plant Blast
Dec 11 2020 // An explosion and fire at a West Virginia chemical plant that shook surrounding homes killed a plant worker and injured three other people. It happened after 10 p.m. Tuesday at Optima Chemicals Co., a tenant on the Chemours...
Wisconsin Officials Draft Water Quality Standards for PFAS
Nov 9 2020 // Wisconsin health officials have finished drafting new groundwater standards for more than 20 substances, including a dozen types of PFAS chemicals. The Department of Natural Resources asked the Department of Health...
EPA Denies Ban; Permits Farmers’ Use of Dicamba-Based Weed Killers for Five Years
Oct 28 2020 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it will allow farmers to spray crops with weed killers based on the chemical dicamba that are sold by Bayer AG and other companies, after a U.S. appeals court...
FM Global Creates Specialty Division for Forest Products, Chemical Industry
Oct 15 2020 // Commercial property insurer FM Global is creating a new division within the company to further strengthen its focus on serving the property risk management needs of the forest products and chemical industries. James P....
North Carolina Sues for Damages in ‘Forever Chemicals’ Release
Oct 15 2020 // The state of North Carolina sued on Tuesday to seek financial damages from companies associated with so-called “forever chemicals” released for decades from a Bladen County plant into the Cape Fear...
Michigan Company Faces $115K Fine Over Concerns Tied to Chemical Use
Oct 7 2020 // A western Michigan company faces a $115,000 fine as part of a proposed consent order with the state over safety concerns tied to the use of a chemical used to make chlorine tablets for swimming pools. Kassouni...
Judge Tosses Case Over Texas Chemical Plant Fire During Harvey
Oct 5 2020 // A judge has dismissed the criminal case against a chemical manufacturer and one of its former employees over a fire at its plant near Houston during Hurricane Harvey, saying prosecutors failed to present sufficient...
Dismissal Rejected; Arkema Chemical Fire Criminal Trial Resumes in Houston
Sep 25 2020 // A criminal case against the U.S. arm of a French chemical maker accused of releasing pollution that injured 21 people resumed on Sept. 24 under a cloud as a judge ruled out a motion to dismiss the case. Prosecutors...
Alabama City Officials Drop Chemical Contamination Lawsuit
Sep 25 2020 // Officials in the northwest Alabama city of Guin have dropped a lawsuit against chemical giant 3M that alleged chemicals from its manufacturing plant had entered a creek that supplies drinking water to the community. The...
What Is the No. 1 Emerging Litigation Risk? ‘Forever Chemicals,’ Says Praedicat
Sep 17 2020 // The top emerging litigation risk identified for the year ahead is PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” used in a wide variety of products such as Teflon, Scotchgard, food containers, firefighting foam and...
2 Charges Against Arkema, Manager over Plant Fire During Harvey Dismissed
Sep 16 2020 // A judge has dismissed two of the charges a chemical manufacturer and one of its former executives were facing during an ongoing trial over a fire at the company’s suburban Houston plant during Hurricane Harvey that...
Pool Disinfectant Caught Fire at Louisiana Chemical Plant, U.S. CSB Says
Sep 1 2020 // The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said on Aug. 31 about 835 tons of a chemical used in swimming pools were stored at the Louisiana plant where a fire had erupted last week in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura. The...
