October, 2011
October 27, 2011
Toxic Exposure: Mercury isotopes in human hair illuminate dietary and industrial sources.
October 26, 2011
Republicans say EPA chemical assessments are slanted toward tougher regulation.
Republicans, Democrats clash over the costs and benefits of agency's actions.
A brominated flame retardant used in polystyrene products is closer to regulation under a global treaty.
The agency's proposal would set a limit down 83% from the existing one.
October 25, 2011
Materials Science: Chemists observe metal objects sloughing off ions to form nanoparticles.
Blood lead concentrations less than the federally established level of concern are associated with adverse health effects.
Pollution: Congressional Republicans seek to derail rules on boilers, coal ash.
Green Chemistry: Close to $1 billion is slated for start-up firms.
General Electric is building what it says will be the largest solar panel factory in the U.S.
October 19, 2011
Intellectual Property: Bankrupt solar firm developed its manufacturing technology with government grant.
Industry asks FDA to ban bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups.
U.S. carriers challenge EU law controlling airlines' greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Department marks end of fiscal 2011 with key clean energy loan guarantees, grants.
EPA is proposing to ease air pollution restrictions from a regulation it issued in July.
October 14, 2011
Water Treatment: Even with advanced filtration, a wastewater treatment plant releases antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
October 13, 2011
Biological Monitoring: Researchers watch changes in populations of microorganisms in lakes.
October 11, 2011
Environmental Pollutants: The contaminants may be degradation products of flame retardants.
October 10, 2011
Environment: Pathway involves microbial oxidation of ammonia via nitric oxide and hydrazine.
Biofuels: National Research Council questions government's output goals.
The U.S. becomes a top destination for installing--but not manufacturing--photovoltaic modules.
Standardized methods released last week can guide businesses in calculating greenhouse gas emissions.
October 07, 2011
Water Safety: High phosphate levels allow deadly microbes to pass through soil.
October 04, 2011
Review: Transportation-related R&D, electric vehicle development to grow.
Pollution: Industry backs cost-benefit analyses of EPA rules, but critics fear assault on public health.
Awards: Winners of National Medals of Science and of Technology & Innovation include chemical scientists.
New players follow in the footsteps of lithium-ion battery makers to meet surging U.S. demand.
Renmatix has unveiled details of its Plant-rose supercritical hydrolysis process for making industrial sugars from plant biomass.
Solyndra's bankruptcy triggers congressional investigation of Energy Department's clean energy policies.
ACS meeting news: Intricacy of nitrogen cycle complicates emissions regulation.
New laws target bisphenol A, tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate.
The widely used solvent trichloroethylene is carcinogenic to humans, EPA concludes.
The Army says it has completed the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile at its disposal facility in Anniston, Ala.
The U.S. and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 26 designed to prevent nuclear proliferation and modernize Ukraine's nuclear research facilities.
Tiny titanate tubes and fibers could remediate contaminated water.
Coupling photosystem I and a cobalt complex yields an inexpensive yet active catalyst.
Ozone depletion in the stratosphere over the Arctic deepens, matching that of the Antarctic.
October 03, 2011
Endocrine Disrupters: Researchers detect BPA in every receipt that they collected from seven U.S. cities.
September, 2011
September 28, 2011
Public Health: Field work shows that a cheap water treatment method improves children's health.
September 26, 2011
Automakers push ahead on energy-saving carbon fiber composites despite questions of economic viability.
Environment: Water contamination infuriates nearby residents.
Greenhouse Gas: Agency puts off proposal to cut power plant emissions.
Spontaneous protests lead to closure of a Chinese petrochemical facility.
Judge to decide whether climate researcher can argue for protection of his documents.
EPA would get more time to set new emissions standards for industrial boilers and solid waste incinerators.
Worldwide energy consumption will grow by 53 percent from 2008 to 2035.
Synthetic musk fragrances and pharmaceuticals are among the eight classes of chemicals.
ACS Meeting News: Analytical chemists devise ways to watch radioactive streams.
All-organic porphyrin displays electronic properties amenable to solar energy collection.
Cyclopentane-1,3-diones are viable options for replacing carboxylic acids in drug candidates.
September 22, 2011
Bankruptcy: House blasts federal support of failed solar manufacturer.
Geological Sciences: Preserved mineral inclusions yield new insights on deep-mantle geologic processes.
South African fuels and chemicals giant Sasol has unveiled plans to build a gas-to-liquids complex--entailing a possible investment of between $8 billion and $10 billion--in Calcasieu Parish, La.
U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer has dismissed Greenpeace's lawsuit against Dow Chemical, Sasol, the public relations firms Ketchum Inc. and Dezenhall Resources, and other defendants.
Clariant has inaugurated a plant to recycle propylene glycol deicer fluids at Oslo International Airport.
Coal-fired electrical power plants face an uncertain future.
ACS Meeting News: Litigation hobbles already beleaguered federal agencies.
EPA explains how it will select set of substances for assessment, possible regulation.
An inadequate cementing job to temporarily cap the Macondo oil and gas well and a series of failures to recognize the impact of such inadequacies led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
EPA should form a working group to coordinate interagency research on pharmaceuticals in drinking water, a report from the Government Accountability Office recommends.
The White House is under pressure from two Democratic senators to release a list of chemicals EPA says could endanger human health or the environment.
ACS Meeting News: Symposium explores the benefits and challenges of recycling PET.
September 21, 2011
Air Pollution: Researchers test the impact of new California fuel regulations intended to reduce air pollution from ocean-going vessels.
September 20, 2011
Mass Spectrometry: Researchers use a quick jolt of electricity to ionize samples directly from plant tissue.
September 19, 2011
Water Pollution: Washing synthetic fabrics may be a major source of plastic particles in the oceans.
September 15, 2011
Oil Toxicity: Arctic marine species are no more sensitive to crude oil than temperate species are.
September 14, 2011
Air Pollution: Citing fragile economy, White House shelves tougher ozone restrictions.
BASF holds initial meeting with representatives of communities near its southwest China polyurethane project.
In response to a challenge posed by Greenpeace, sportswear makers have committed to eliminating all hazardous chemical discharges.
DuPont has sued the German specialty materials maker Heraeus for infringing a DuPont patent on metallization pastes.
BASF and Daimler have joined forces to design a concept electric vehicle, the Smart Forvision, for urban markets.
Industry blasts EPA's draft assessment of the chemical's toxicity.
Two projects to spur development and deployment of solar technologies were recently announced.
ACS Meeting News: In spirited research, chemists use brand-name liquors as solvents for organic syntheses.
Soluble hydrocarbons dissolved in ocean, but researchers continue to debate worker safety.
Impurities in waste carbon dioxide wouldn't be an impediment for supercritical fluid-based reactions.
Inexpensive natural binder compound boosts electrode performance.
September 12, 2011
Nanoparticle Safety: Excreted nanoparticles containing drugs could pose a threat in the environment.
September 8, 2011
Pollution: Genetically engineered bacteria could allow cheap detection of water contaminants.
Carbon Emissions: Laptops, televisions, and other devices emit more than household appliances do.
Bankruptcy: Solyndra got loan guarantee but can't make a profit.
ACS Meeting News: Study of atmospheric dust may herald changes in weather and climate forecasting.
A workhorse for oil and gas extraction sees material advances amid growing demand.
Honeywell's UOP subsidiary has begun construction on a biofuels demonstration facility.
Yearly gain in carbon dioxide emissions for 2010 tops U.S. GDP growth for first time in more than two decades.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week dispatched an inspection team to a nuclear power station in central Virginia.
Alberta's oil sands are a vast energy resource, but tapping them comes at the expense of a lot of water.
ACS Meeting News: Chemists build biobased resins from vegetable oil.
September 2, 2011
ACS Meeting News: Amounts of two cancer-causing chemicals remain high in U.S. cigarettes, despite a longstanding ability to reduce them.
September 1, 2011
Climate Change: Sea level rise could wash away organic carbon and nitrogen stored in the soil of Louisiana's coastal wetlands.
August, 2011
August 31, 2011
ACS Meeting News: Environmentally friendly films protect cotton and foam from flames and heat.
ACS Meeting News: Field study may herald changes in weather and climate forecasting.
ACS Meeting News: In spirited research, chemists use brand-name liquors as solvents for organic syntheses.
August 30, 2011
Controversy smolders over federal use of aerially applied fire retardants.
Retardants Drive Wood Decomposition To Dehydration, Hinder Ignition.
Investigation: NSF probe clears researcher Michael Mann of misconduct allegations.
EPA is proposing new regulations aimed at limiting air pollution from oil and natural gas drilling operations, including the first standard for wells that are hydraulically fractured.
The Interior Department says it will resume selling leases for offshore oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since last year's BP rig explosion unleashed the worst maritime oil spill in history.
The activities at EPA's 37 laboratories are fragmented and largely uncoordinated, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office.
EPA should work with other federal agencies to manage nitrogen pollution from agriculture and fossil-fuel burning in a more comprehensive way, a report from EPA's Science Advisory Board concludes.
Utilities are starting to take advantage of naturally occurring microbes to rid drinking water of nitrate, perchlorate.
Cosmic rays can incite up to a 10-fold increase in the nucleation rate of sulfuric-acid-based atmospheric aerosol particles.
August 29, 2011
Persistent Pollutants: Pollutant levels in owl eggs fluctuate with changes in climate and food sources.
August 23, 2011
Two solar panel manufacturers shutter U.S. operations.
Environment: Authorities to shut independent aromatics producer.
PPG will provide a grant of $6.9 million to the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium over the next 10 years.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded German industrial gas firm Linde $15 million for research into carbon capture technologies.
Biofuel firm ZeaChem has signed a memorandum of understanding with the automaker Chrysler to speed up the development of cellulosic ethanol as a transportation fuel.
Momentive Specialty Chemicals will expand capacity for resin-coated proppants, used in hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry, at its Brady, Texas, facility.
Efforts to pass offshore drilling safety legislation have sputtered over the past year.
EPA's efforts to save people from radioactivity in their homes have accomplished little.
The existing national air quality standards for carbon monoxide adequately protect public health and the environment, EPA said last week in announcing its decision to retain the 40-year-old rules.
President Barack Obama announced a plan last week in which the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy would invest a total of up to $510 million over three years to spur production of aviation and marine biofuels for commercial and military applications.
Study provides clearer data on the impact of atmospheric CO2 on the calcium carbonates of coral and shellfish.
August 17, 2011
Government mandates have shaped the market but not always for the best.
Catalysis: Synthetic complex can speed production of H2 by a factor of 10.
EPA ordered DuPont on Aug. 11 to halt sales of Imprelis herbicide one week after the firm, under pressure from the agency, announced a voluntary recall.
Families march for chemicals law reform.
A subsidiary of India's Symbiotic Sciences has established U.S. operations at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.
MicroGen Systems and Cornell University's Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility have collaborated to develop battery-free sensors that can operate in anything that spins or shakes.
Proposed shift to higher ethanol-blended gasoline draws questions from industry, activist groups, and Congress.
A coalition of health and environmental groups is asking a federal appeals court to set an immediate deadline for EPA to decide whether to strengthen clean air standards for ground-level ozone, the main component of urban smog.
Under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, several phthalates used as plasticizers were banned from products intended for children 12 years old and younger.
Natural gas recovered from shale rock formations has "enormous potential to provide economic and environmental benefits for the country," but the drilling technology presents a variety of environmental risks that must be addressed.
Carbon dioxide injected underground would not be treated as a hazardous waste under an EPA proposal issued Aug. 4.
Conflicting explanations attribute change in emission rates to human activity.
Electron waves associated with core-shell particles lead to thinner better-performing devices.
August 15, 2011
Workplace Safety: Soluble hydrocarbons dissolved in ocean, but questions of worker safety, and the fate of less soluble compounds debated.
Nuclear Disaster: A volunteer monitoring network reports on levels of radioisotopes that traveled from Japan to Europe.
August 12, 2011
Water Quality: Invasive mussels may disrupt phosphorus flow in Lake Huron.
Materials Science: Sensors' response to surface tension can also differentiate liquids.
August 10, 2011
Nuclear Waste: Blue ribbon panel calls for interim storage of spent fuel.
Lotions containing inorganic nanoparticles draw attention of toxicologists and ire of some consumer groups.
Possibilities for new global climate treaty are slim.
Dow Chemical is building two new plants to produce its Enlight polyolefin encapsulant films, used in solar panels.
Students at Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, have designed a 145-kg solar-powered racing car using lightweight materials from Evonik Industries.
Chemical manufacturers will have to supply more data to EPA about the quantity and use of substances they make, under a rule unveiled last week.
The Department of Homeland Security is proposing to regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate in an effort to keep the potentially dangerous chemical out of the hands of terrorists and others with criminal intent.
Dow Chemical will pay $2.5 million to settle alleged pollution due to leaking pipes and valves at its facility in Midland, Mich., under a federal consent decree announced in late July.
Microscopy method reveals the location and morphology of electron donor, acceptor, and blended regions in photoactive layers.
August 9, 2011
Water Pollution: Nitrate leaving the river's basin has increased 9% since 1980, according to new study.
August 8, 2011
Nanomaterials: Cloud point extraction could help distinguish between silver nanoparticles and silver ions.
August 2, 2011
Sustainability: EPA should prevent pollution, not just manage it, NRC report says.
August 1, 2011
Material makers will have to adapt to help consumer goods firms fulfill product stewardship goals.
Nuclear Accident: Progress in containing damage means a cold shutdown could happen early next year.
Sustainable Chemistry: Alternative syntheses open a door to more efficient industrial processes.
Energy-saving projects are especially valued by Europe's chemical industry.
DuPont has acquired Silicon Valley start-up Innovalight, a maker of silicon inks and process technologies that increase the conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells.
Merck KGaA and Solvay are making new investments in plastic electronics.
EPA's chemical hazard assessment program remains under scrutiny.
EPA's program for evaluating the risks of chemicals to children has failed to accomplish its goals because it relied on industry to voluntarily hand over safety information.
Canada plans to take out of commerce four classes of chemicals because of environmental concerns.
Climb in digital printing puts pressure on paper recycling.
The single-celled organisms, rather than bacteria, appear to make large quantities of the ozone-destroying greenhouse gas.
July, 2011
July 28, 2011
Regulations: Agency solicits comments on plan to require toxicity testing, environmental sampling.
July 27, 2011
Climate Change: Under elevated CO2 levels, rice and wheat increasingly pick up the toxic metal from contaminated soils.
July 26, 2011
Specialties: Transaction will create a leader in water treatment and cleaning products.
ConocoPhillips' plan to divide into two independent companies has left undecided the fate of the firm's polypropylene business and its Chevron Phillips Chemical joint venture with Chevron.
A homeowner in Pennsylvania and a chain of golf courses in Indiana have filed a class-action lawsuit against DuPont claiming the company's Imprelis herbicide injured or killed pine trees on their property.
Chemical industry seeks regulatory certainty in antiterrorism standards.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the fiscal 2012 energy-water appropriations bill on July 15.
The American Chemistry Council and the American Petroleum Institute are among large industry groups that are calling for EPA to delay setting a new national air quality standard for ground-level ozone.
Representatives from industry and the Obama Administration last week announced a strategy for the responsible design, purchase, management, and recycling of old electronic products.
EPA would have 15 months to repropose and finalize rules governing hazardous industrial-boiler emissions under a draft bill introduced in the Senate last week.
Templated Porous Carbon Electrode Speeds Up Ion Transport.
Embedding nanoparticles between subcells boosts photovoltaic performance.
July 25, 2011
Toxic Substances: Women with more stuffed furniture had higher blood levels of the flame retardants.
Disinfection By-Products: Medical imaging chemicals transform into toxic compounds in drinking water treated with chlorine.
July 21, 2011
Biogeochemistry: Acidifying phosphorus-containing dust makes element more accessible to ocean ecosystems.
Energy Policy: Clean power from livestock waste would become economical with carbon tax.
Climate Change: By adding a treatment step, plants handling wastewater could cut nitrous oxide emissions.
July 18, 2011
After the oil spill, analytical protocols to assess contaminants in seafood found few problems, but the public and some scientists are not reassured.
Instrumentation companies supplied the gas and liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and detection technologies used for seafood safety testing.
Review: U.S. nuclear plants need stronger safeguards for catastrophic events, panel says.
From personal care to fish food, algae firms look for ways to make profits quickly.
Advances in biotechnology enable a new generation of plant-derived ingredients.
As one developer of cellulosic biofuels gets funded, two others face difficulties.
Brazil has registered the biological fungicide Serenade for apples, onions, and strawberries, according to BASF.
ITT has been acquiring companies to build its ITT Analytics business.
The Innovative Vector Control Consortium has signed an agreement with the contract research firm Scynexis.
EPA inches toward high-throughput in vitro assays to reduce cost, time of chemical safety assessments.
A major electricity company, American Electric Power, has halted one of the most successful programs to develop a commercial-scale coal-fired power plant that utilizes carbon dioxide capture and storage technology.
EPA is acting on its concerns about toxicity of and potential increase in consumers' exposure to 14 ethylene glycol ethers.
A House committee last week approved a bill that would require Cabinet-level officials to analyze the effects of eight Clean Air Act regulations on employment and the economy.
July 13, 2011
Risk Assessment: EPA documents to become more concise, describe scientific decisionmaking.
Congress: House bill would require analysis of EPA rules' impacts on the economy.
July 12, 2011
Construction Chemistry: Waste from olive oil production could shrink the building material's carbon footprint.
The fiscal 2012 Energy & Water Appropriations bill funds the Department of Energy at $24.7 billion, down $850 million from 2011 and $5.9 billion from President Barack Obama's 2012 request.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski has introduced legislation that would require the Department of Energy to create two temporary storage sites for spent nuclear fuel at unspecified locations.
July 11, 2011
Water Pollution: A special type of mass spectrometry could help monitor the amount of oil discharged into oceans.
At the first BioPlastek Forum, delegates met for an exchange of information and pointed discussion.
Energy Department's latest programs target critical energy challenges.
Deep-sea mud in the Pacific Ocean contains enough of the metals to meet the world's growing demand.
July 8, 2011
Clean Air: EPA rule curbs pollutants from power plants in eastern U.S.
July 7, 2011
Air Pollution: Tailpipe controls on buses don't clear the air inside bus cabins.
The water and process solutions unit of Dow Chemical has opened a $15 million technology development center in Tarragona, Spain.
Chemical manufacturers oppose tax credits to expand transportation use of the fuel.
An industry group representing manufacturers of styrene, an industrial chemical used to make polystyrene and polyester resins found in numerous consumer products, has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services for classifying styrene as a "reasonably anticipated carcinogen."
EPA says it plans to propose revised regulations to limit toxic air emissions from industrial boilers in October and will then issue final standards by the end of April 2012.
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee has approved a bill that would eliminate a 2009 court-ordered requirement that pesticide applicators obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act when spraying in or near U.S. waters.
Major federal regulations issued over the past decade cost the U.S. economy between $44 billion and $62 billion each year, and they generate benefits worth $132 billion to $655 billion annually.
When wallabies chow down on a leafy dinner, they produce about one-fifth the amount of methane that cows do per volume of greens digested.
July 1, 2011
Natural Disaster: Lab, city are shuttered as crews fight to contain blaze.
Shipments of three pesticides require countries' consent.