., a cap burst on a pressurized line of acetic acid, forming a chemical vapor cloud, a spokesperson for the Harris County Pollution Control Services Department tells C&EN. The vaporized acetic acid caused most of the injuries, the spokesperson says. The two workers killed at the scene were contract employees, LyondellBasell says.
by Cheryl Hogue | July 29, 2021
Bayer may form a scientific panel to review Roundup-related safety information, and it is launching a new website where it will host studies related to the product. 28 Solvay 2020 chemical sales: $11.1 billion Solvay has been trimming its portfolio to focus on specialty chemicals. In a major recent move along these lines, the company is carving out its soda ash unit into a separate business, a possible precursor to divesting the operation, which generates about $1.75 billion in annual sales.
by Alexander H. Tullo | July 26, 2021
ACS Board of Directors. The ACS Board of Directors wants to hear from you. If you are interested in discussing ACS topics with the board, please contact the Office of the Secretary (secretary@acs.org) for additional information. ACS Council. The ACS Council will meet virtually at 11:00 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 25.
July 23, 2021
Andrew Roxburgh McGhie Wilmington, Delaware Lisa Jones Thank you for your recent story on professor Lisa Jones’s decision to withdraw her name from consideration for a faculty position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill after the disturbing action by the board in denying tenure to Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones (C&EN, June 14, 2021, page 7).
July 23, 2021
—Embracing and advancing inclusion in chemistry “” As an active American Chemical Society volunteer and leader, I appreciate the sense of belonging that I have found with ACS. Engagement with the society has provided professional and personal development opportunities for me for almost 4 decades.
by Carolyn Ribes, ACS Director-at-Large | July 10, 2021
—Chemical Safety Board sends 2 staff to Chemtool plant after fire “” The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has sent two senior staff members to Rockton, Illinois, after a June 14 fire destroyed a Chemtool manufacturing plant. No workers were injured in the incident. Chemtool, a subsidiary of Lubrizol, makes greases and industrial fluids such as cleaners and lubricants.
by Jyllian Kemsley | June 26, 2021
—Company operating failures led to deaths of husband and wife from hydrogen sulfide exposure “” The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) places primary responsibility on Texas-based Aghorn Operating for failures that led to the death of an employee and his wife in 2019. The two died at an oil-field pumping station where water was recycled from oil operations and injected back underground to drive more oil to the surface.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | May 27, 2021
READDI’s targets are families of viruses that have pandemic potential, and the initiative aims to get five broad-spectrum antivirals through early safety studies in humans within 5 years. One way to do that, Bamforth says, is to target host biology. “If we can affect the host cell, then, to a degree, it doesn’t matter what the virus does,” he says.
by Laura Howes | May 20, 2021
—Biden nominating 3 people to the US Chemical Safety Board “Sylvia Johnson, Steve Owens, and Jennifer Sass have strong chemical science backgrounds but lack industrial experience” President Joe Biden will nominate three new members to the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), the White House announced April 28.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | May 05, 2021