Chemical spills are any accidental releases of synthetic chemicals that pose a risk to the environment. Spills occur at any of the steps between the production of a chemical and its use. A railroad tank car may spring a leak; a pipe in a...

Five quarts of oil can lubricate a car engine for five thou- sand miles against friction and heat, forces that would otherwise destroy an unprotected engine in a trip to the grocery store. The same quantity, barely more than a gallon, can also...

A chemical hazard arises from contamination with harmful or potentially harmful...

THERE ARE two good reasons to make chemical plants less vulnerable to terrorist attacks: to stymie an assault by Al Qaeda and to reduce the risk of deadly industrial accidents, just as preparations for bioterrorism can make the health care system better equipped to...

Being a chemicals firm is seldom easy. But the industry has been an even tougher place to do business lately. The high oil price has made raw materials much dearer. Soaring energy bills mean that processing those materials costs that much more, too....

Twelve states sued the Bush administration Wednesday to force greater disclosure of data on toxic chemicals that companies store, use and release into the environment.The state officials oppose new federal Environmental Protection Agency rules that allow thousands of companies to limit the information they disclose...

The four biggest U.S. makers of microwave popcorn have removed a flavoring chemical that has been linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers from nearly all their products.The companies say all their microwave popcorn recipes should be changed by January.But it might take...