Chemicals/Petroleum
The Lead
TransCanada: Pipeline Would Not Affect Climate
February 20, 2013 8:00 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | Comments
Alex Pourbaix, TransCanada's president for energy and oil pipelines, said opponents of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline have grossly inflated its likely impact on emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Canada represents just 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pourbaix said at a forum sponsored by a manufacturing group that supports the pipeline.
Fire Marshal's Office: Panel Had Blast Site Access
May 23, 2013 1:53 pm | News | CommentsHowever, in a statement issued Wednesday, the state agency said the CSB was given access to the scene, worked with other agencies during excavations and neighborhood surveys, and collected its own chemical samples with ATF assistance. The statement says no evidence was destroyed or compromised.
Baldor Electric Introduces Full Line Of ER-Style Ball Bearings
May 22, 2013 4:20 pm | Products | CommentsBaldor Electric Company has introduced its line of Dodge ER-Style ball bearings, which are available in two shaft attachment methods. The set screw version has a 65° set screw angle for better shaft grip, while the D-Lok product uses a clamp collar grip to minimize vibration.
Safety Board: ATF Blocking Plant Blast Probe
May 22, 2013 7:38 am | News | CommentsFederal agents and the state fire marshal have effectively barred a federal safety panel from the site of a Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured about 200 others, hampering its investigation, the panel's chairman said.
Precise Flow Measurements On Small Pipelines
May 21, 2013 2:41 pm | Products | CommentsEmerson Process Management has added the Micro Motion ELITE CMFS sensor platform to its line of Coriolis flowmeters in the effort to bring more precise measurement to pipelines smaller than 2” or DN50. According to the company, the new sensor platform features better scalability and standardization.
Marine Who Dumped Toxins Felt Illness Was Payback
May 20, 2013 1:55 pm | by Allen G. Breed, AP National Writer | News | CommentsAs a young Marine electronics technician at Camp Lejeune in the mid-1970s, the Massachusetts man figured he'd dumped hundreds of gallons of toxic solvents onto the ground. It would be decades before he realized that he had unknowingly contributed to the worst drinking water contamination in the country's history.
U.S.: Pakistan Moves To Curb Dangerous Fertilizers
May 20, 2013 10:43 am | by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press | News | CommentsA top American military officer says Pakistan has taken steps to prevent fertilizers made in Pakistan from being used for roadside bombs targeting American troops in Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Robert P. Walters Jr. spoke Monday in Islamabad on ways to counter the bombs often referred to as improvised explosive devices.
Authorities: Crime Not Ruled Out In Texas Blast
May 17, 2013 7:49 am | by Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press | News | CommentsInvestigators working in the remnants of an exploded Texas fertilizer plant sifted by hand through untold kernels of corn, moved tons of debris and conducted more than 400 interviews, while searching for the missing piece to solve what many officials compared to an extraordinary puzzle.
Dow To Appeal $1.2B In Damages
May 17, 2013 7:32 am | News | CommentsA federal judge has ordered Dow Chemical Co. to pay $1.21 billion in damages after it lost a class-action lawsuit that accused it of conspiring to fix prices. Dow says it will appeal. The Feb. 20 jury verdict in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., was for Dow to pay $400 million in damages.
U.S. Consumer Prices Fall On Cheaper Gas
May 16, 2013 1:43 pm | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsA plunge in the cost of gas drove down a measure of U.S. consumer prices last month by the most since December 2008. Excluding the drop in fuel costs, prices were largely unchanged. The consumer price index fell 0.4 percent in April from March, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Koch Nitrogen Building Plant In Oklahoma
May 16, 2013 8:05 am | News | CommentsKoch, based in Wichita, Kan., said it plans to invest about $1 billion in the project, with construction slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2014 and the plant to become operational in 2016. The company said the project will increase fertilizer production by more than 1 million tons per year.
Foes Of S. Ind. Fertilizer Plant Cite Texas Blast
May 15, 2013 2:09 pm | News | CommentsOpponents of a proposed southern Indiana fertilizer plant are arguing that state officials should block the project because of dangers highlighted by last month's deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer manufacturer. An Illinois businessman is seeking permission to build a fertilizer plant projected to cost $950 million near the Ohio River city of Rockport.
Vietnam Changes Law To Get Around EU Execution Ban
May 15, 2013 8:37 am | by Chris Brummitt, Associated Press | News | CommentsVietnam has issued a new law allowing domestically produced chemicals to be used in lethal injections, a change that should enable it to resume the currently stalled executions of more than 530 people on death row. The holdup was a result of an EU ban on its factories exporting chemicals used in lethal injections.
Woman: China Police Ask To Ax White House Petition
May 15, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsPolice in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, have declined to comment. But B.Y.'s petition problem last week highlights how prickly Chinese authorities are about Internet dissent, perhaps especially when it involves the United States.
EU Probes Oil Companies For Possible Price-Fixing
May 14, 2013 1:25 pm | News | CommentsEuropean anti-trust authorities have launched investigations into at least three oil companies on suspicion of price-fixing. Britain's BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Norway's Statoil confirmed they are subject to the inquiry announced Tuesday by the European Union's executive arm, the Commission.
Texas Launches Criminal Probe Into Plant Explosion
May 10, 2013 1:47 pm | by Angela K. Brown and Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe announcement came the same day a paramedic who helped to evacuate residents the night of the explosion was arrested on a charge of possessing a destructive device, though it is not clear whether the charge is related to the April 17 blast at West Fertilizer Co.
North Dakota Tops Nation In Rate Of Worker Deaths
May 10, 2013 1:39 pm | News | CommentsThere were 44 worker deaths in North Dakota in 2011, for a rate of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. That was well above the national rate of 3.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers, the report said. "The oil boom has come with a hefty price tag of a steep increase in deaths on the job," the labor union said in a statement.
Nations Agree To New Chemical Ban
May 10, 2013 8:42 am | News | CommentsU.N. officials and delegates say more than 120 nations agreed to tighter controls on several chemicals and hazardous waste, including a gradual ban on a flame retardant and some new export requirements for other substances. But they say an effort to rein in use of construction material Chrysotile asbestos and a powerful herbicide, Paraquat, fell short at a two-week summit of delegates to three main international treaties.
Gov. Brown Vows To Amend Chemical Disclosure Law
May 8, 2013 2:10 pm | by Alicia Chang, Associated Press | News | CommentsSeeking to crack down on lawsuit abuse, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday proposed to revamp a decades-old law requiring businesses to post public warnings of chemicals.Proposition 65, passed by voters in 1986, mandates that store owners alert consumers of the presence of potentially dangerous chemicals in their products or on their properties.
Ammonium Nitrate Was Explosive In Texas Plant Blast
May 7, 2013 11:22 am | News | CommentsThe finding was expected, and officials had said they were focusing their investigation on the explosive chemical used in many fertilizers, said Rachel Moreno, spokeswoman for the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office. A spot where the ammonium nitrate was stored is now a 90-foot-wide crater, Moreno said Monday.
Texas Plant That Blew Up Carried $1M Policy
May 6, 2013 12:15 pm | by Christopher Sherman, Associated Press | News | CommentsRoberts said he expects the plant's owner to ask a judge to divide the $1 million in insurance money among the plaintiffs, several of whom he represents, and then file for bankruptcy. He said he wasn't surprised that the plant was carrying such a small policy.
BP To Pay $18M For Texas Gulf Restoration Work
May 3, 2013 2:16 pm | News | CommentsBP PLC has agreed to finance five Gulf restoration projects in Texas expected to cost a total of $18 million. In a statement issued Thursday, BP said the projects are part of its commitment to provide up to $1 billion in early restoration funding to repair the damage from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
PSG Completes Acquisition Of Ebsray Pumps
May 3, 2013 11:09 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | News | CommentsThe Oak Brook Terrace, Ill.-based Pump Solutions Group (PSG) has announced the completion of its acquisition of Ebsray Pumps Pty. Limited. The maker of industrial pumps, located in Brookvale, Australia, will be merged into PSG’s Blackmer operation. The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal.
Officials: No Breakthrough Yet In Texas Explosion
May 3, 2013 8:14 am | by Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press | News | CommentsTheir work is complex for several reasons: the magnitude of the blast at West Fertilizer, which knocked out windows and rooftops all over the tiny town of West and registered as a small earthquake; the deaths of 10 first responders and two others who volunteered to help; and the spread of debris as far as two miles away.
Oil Drilling Technology Leaps, Clean Energy Lags
May 2, 2013 1:42 pm | by Jonathan Fahey, AP Energy Writer | News | CommentsThe consequences are enormous. A looming energy crisis has turned into a boom. These additional fossil fuels are intensifying the threat to the earth's climate. And for renewable energy sources, the sunny forecast of last decade has turned overcast.
Is Anti-Bacterial Soap Safe?
May 2, 2013 1:37 pm | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning to deliver a review this year of whether triclosan is safe. The ruling, which will determine whether triclosan continues to be used in household cleaners, could have implications for a $1 billion industry that includes hundreds of anti-bacterial products from toothpaste to toys.
