Chemicals

"Floodwaters in two Houston neighborhoods have been contaminated with bacteria and toxins that can make people sick, testing organized by The New York Times has found. Residents will need to take precautions to return safely to their homes, public health experts said."

"Industrial safety advocates and Texas residents say a flood-related fires and explosions at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, underscores the need for a worker and community safety regulation."

"The Environmental Protection Agency wants answers from Arkema. On the same day first-responders sued the company for exposing them to toxic fumes, the EPA sent an eight page letter demanding a long list of documents and details on the incident at the Crosby plant."

"MIAMI -- Dozens of personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency worked to secure some of the nation's most contaminated toxic waste sites as Hurricane Irma bore down on Florida. The agency said its employees evacuated personnel, secured equipment and safeguarded hazardous materials in anticipation of storm surges and heavy rains."

"Houston’s sprawling network of petrochemical plants and refineries released millions of pounds of pollutants in the days after Hurricane Harvey began barreling toward Texas."

"GALENA PARK, Texas —  Cindy Sanchez began to feel ill while barbecuing just before Harvey's torrents started pelting this city just east of Houston, along a corridor with the nation's highest concentration of petrochemical plants."

"A group of first responders exposed to smoke from a Crosby, Tex., chemical plant fire after Hurricane Harvey are suing the owner of the plant for more than $1 million, saying that they vomited and gasped for air in the middle of the road in a scene the suit describes as 'nothing less than chaos.'"

"If it’s sudsy, it probably contains dioxane, a likely carcinogen."

"CHANNELVIEW, Texas — Public health officials are investigating a case of dangerous liquid mercury that appears to have washed or blown ashore here, east of Houston, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey."

"It may cost up to $2 billion to clean up toxic firefighting chemicals that have leaked from more than 400 U.S. military installations, including Fairchild Air Force Base, a group of Democratic senators said Tuesday in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee."