Chemicals

"Children may enjoy plopping down in foam-filled chairs just their size, but a report released Wednesday by several advocacy groups says those chairs may contain flame retardants that could be harmful."

"About 70 people were taken ill after a sulphuric acid leak at a chemical company in California late on Monday, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said."

"LIHUE, KAUAI — Pesticide disclosure Bill 2491 is set to become law after the Kauai County Council voted Saturday to override Mayor Bernard Carvalho’s veto of the bill."

"House lawmakers are expressing optimism about a landmark Senate compromise to reform the country’s chemical safety law."

"In issuing its annual report on refinery accidents and pollution releases Tuesday, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade took a slightly different approach by urging refinery workers, employees and people living around the facilities to report what they see, hear and smell. ...

"A whole new group of microscopic creatures has been found growing of the vast amount of discarded plastic floating in the world's oceans."

"PITTSBURGH -- The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking public comments on a proposal that would allow barges to transport shale gas wastewater, a drilling byproduct that can include chemicals, radioactive material and heavy metals."

"One afternoon last winter, Julie Ellis unfurled a long, white tarp under a stand of trees near Coes Pond where hundreds of crows roost. Her mission: to collect as much bird poop as possible. Back in the laboratory, Ellis’ colleagues combed through the feces. Testing its bacteria, they discovered something unusual -- genes that make the crows resistant to antibiotics."

"More than half of all facilities licensed last year by Texas to carry ammonium nitrate lacked either secure fencing or locked storage areas for the potentially explosive chemical compound."

"The mayor of Kauai County, Hawaii, has vetoed a hotly contested bill that would have restricted the use of pesticides by companies developing genetically modified crops on the island."