Welcome to Chemical & Engineering News' Environmental SCENE, an up-to-the-minute collection of news about environmental research, business, and policy, including coverage of climate change, pollution, toxic substances, and sustainability.
Environmental SCENE RSS Feed | C&EN's Latest News RSS Feed | 
C&EN on Facebook
Persistent Pollutants: Flame retardants in ocean sediments benefit some worm species, but hinder others.
Kyoto Protocol: United Nations examines alleged abuse of carbon-trading system.
Stream Ecology: Ecologists find novel source of the neurotoxin in aquatic ecosystems.
Persistent Pollutants: Flame retardants in ocean sediments benefit some worm species, but hinder others.
Green-energy and high-tech industries grow anxious over China's monopoly on these valuable resources.
Kyoto Protocol: United Nations examines alleged abuse of carbon-trading system.
ACS Meeting News: Collected dust particles that block sunlight can be shaken off with a jolt of electricity.
EPA's proposed regulations for limiting emissions of toxic air pollutants from industrial boilers and process heaters are "far more stringent than necessary" to protect public health and the environment, says the American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group.
Chemtura has settled with EPA and the Department of Justice for $26 million to cover penalties and costs of environmental cleanup at 17 sites owned by the specialty chemicals maker across 15 states throughout the country.
The Department of Energy last week selected a team led by Pennsylvania State University to receive $122 million over five years to create an R&D center to develop technologies that make buildings more energy efficient.
Independent programs have sequenced the genomes of two oilseed crops.
Under a joint development agreement, the U.S. arm of Brazilian energy firm Petrobras will optimize KL Energy's cellulosic ethanol process to use sugarcane bagasse, the residue that remains after sugarcane processing, as a feedstock.
DuPont has expanded a plant in Fayetteville, N.C., that makes polyvinyl fluoride, a raw material for its Tedlar brand film.
South Korea's OCI will spend $285 million to expand its output of polysilicon used in solar cells.
Nalco has acquired Casper, Wyo.-based Fabrication Technologies, a supplier of enhanced oil recovery equipment and services, for an undisclosed sum.
Stream Ecology: Ecologists find novel source of the neurotoxin in aquatic ecosystems.
Polymer- and organic-molecule-based solar cells show promise as low-cost power generators.
Hopes for a new climate treaty grow dimmer, even in the face of extreme weather events.
Federal agency says state's 'flexible' permit program violates the clean air act.
Bayer CropScience has agreed to voluntarily remove its pesticide aldicarb from the market after EPA determined that the N-methyl carbamate insecticide "no longer meets the agency's rigorous food safety standards and may pose unacceptable dietary risks, especially to infants and young children."
Ruling: Judge says USDA will have to review Monsanto crop.
Biofuels and chemicals maker Gevo has filed preliminary documents with the Securities & Exchange Commission for an initial public offering (IPO) of shares worth up to $150 million..
EPA is taking aim at a family of surfactants, a brominated flame retardant, and benzidine dyes to control their potential risks to health or the environment.
The Department of Defense has 141 installations on the EPA national priorities list of 1,620 contaminated sites for cleanup under the Superfund law, but the two federal agencies are having trouble agreeing on how and when the cleanup work should be done.
Dow Chemical says it plans to begin commercial-scale production of new polyolefin-based encapsulation films for crystalline silicon and thin-film silicon solar-cell modules at its plant in Findlay, Ohio.
Cargill and Japanese trading firm Marubeni will work together on projects to reduce carbon emissions.
ACS Meeting News: Lanthanide nanomaterials convert visible light into disinfecting ultraviolet light.
Environmental Contaminants: Scientists investigate how flax plants' proteomes change when grown near Chernobyl.
Agriculture: Researchers link tetracycline resistance in bacteria with levels of the antibiotic in soil near Chinese pigsties.
Oil spill: First journal report to characterize deep-sea oil plume.
Persistent Pollutants: Stomach oils from northern fulmars provide an easy measure of organochlorines.
Toxic Chemicals: Study suggests regulators should focus more on how organisms modify pollutants in the environment than the chemicals' hydrophobicity.
Individuals' records of environmental exposures may yield clues to the causes of disease.
Radical oxidation of vinyl alcohol follows different routes in atmospheric and combustion processes.
ACS News: Chemical societies' websites focus on global environmental challenges.
Four green technology firms have taken significant steps to advance the production of renewable fuels and chemicals.
Congressional hearing probes safety and other provisions of bill to reform chemical control law .
After a July 29 congressional hearing on legislation to rewrite the federal chemical control law, activists rallied on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol.
Insights: Industry gears up to promote benefits of chemicals, new technologies.
Chemical makers would have to provide data about production, processing, and use of their compounds every four years, rather than every five as is currently required, under a proposal EPA announced last week.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week reestablished the Energy Advisory Board that was dismantled by the Bush Administration in 2006.
What was to be the first commercial-scale gasification plant to generate electricity and capture and sequester CO2 underground was canceled last week by the Department of Energy.
Archer Daniels Midland has begun offering isosorbide as part of its slate of chemicals derived from renewable resources.
DuPont supplied the thin-film photovoltaic modules that were recently installed at Hongkong Electric's Lamma Power Station.
Transportation: Life-cycle analysis shows that lithium-ion batteries are not the environmental concern experts once imagined.
Nanomaterials: One class of carbon nanotubes produces reactive oxygen species under sunlight.
Persistent Pollutants: The chemicals' decline unaffected six years after the Stockholm Convention.
Academia and government are avid purchasers of ?greenhouse gas measurement tools, but industry is slow to catch on.
Climate Change: Plaintiffs challenge agency's plan, based on 'endangerment' decision.
The fate of spilled oil in the Gulf rests with the hydrocarbon-digesting microorganisms colonizing underwater plumes.
Some 201 small businesses in 34 states will receive a total of $188 million in new energy grants, the Department of Energy announced last week.
South Korea's Hanwha Chemical will spend about $350 million to acquire a 49.99% stake in China's Solarfun Power, which will effectively give it managerial control of the company.
Air Products & Chemicals has opened a clean energy combustion lab at its headquarters in Allentown, Pa.
Eastman Chemical and Eltron Research & Development will jointly scale up and test Eltron's membrane system for hydrogen separation and carbon capture.
A U.S. district court judge in Florida issued a preliminary injunction forbidding fertilizer maker Mosaic from expanding its South Fort Meade phosphate mine in central Florida.
Water Conservation: Lingering chemicals from personal care products still plague treatment methods for your sink's waste.
Gulf Oil Spill: Much needs to be learned about oil treatments' toxicity, scientists say.
Annual measurement reveals record hypoxic zone, but not necessarily related to the oil spill.
Agriculture: Researchers compare how the pollution behind a meal affects coastal ecosystems versus the climate.
Water Pollution: When exposed to estrogen early in their life, female fish give dominant males the brush-off.
Gulf Oil Spill: EPA data show that mixtures of oil and dispersant are just as toxic to marine life as oil alone.
Environmental Pollutants: Soybeans can accumulate drugs and personal care products commonly found in wastewater and solid waste.
Organophosphorus and thiocarbamate pesticides have secondary effects in the brain, a study in mice reveals.
Geochemistry: BP leak is behind undersea oil plumes, isotopic analyses confirm.
Congress: Legislation would require EPA's safety review of commercial substances.
Politics: Majority leader says too few votes exist for bill putting a price on carbon.
Advisers say EPA justified its unsafe-at-any-dose estimates for most toxic form of dioxin.
Industry attacks decades-old air pollution rules to repel greenhouse gas regulation.
A new process uses the full power of the sun--both visible light and thermal heating--to drive electrochemical reactions.
Ten measurable, global features all provide evidence that Earth's climate has warmed during the past half-century, according to a report released last week by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
EPA's decision to ban residues of the pesticide carbofuran on imported foods was "arbitrary and capricious," a federal appeals court ruled on July 23.
A consortium led by California Institute of Technology and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was selected by the Department of Energy to run a newly created energy research hub that will examine methods to generate fuels directly from sunlight.
Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory scientists have developed an analytical method to test for oil contamination in Gulf of Mexico seafood.
Starting in 2013, General Motors will use a new fluorine-based air-conditioning refrigerant in cars sold in the U.S.
Six companies will receive a total of $106 million from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 to develop processes that use carbon dioxide as a raw material.
Conservation: The U.S. wastes as much energy in tossed-out food as Sweden consumes in a year.
Environmental Pollutants: Scientists uncover a mechanism for methylmercury's decomposition during the Arctic's long summer days.
Oil Spill: The fate of spilled oil in the Gulf rests with the hydrocarbon-digesting microbes colonizing underwater plumes.
Indoor Air: Scientists measure hydroxyl radicals for the first time in an unperturbed indoor environment.
Technologies to reel in greenhouse gas emissions abound, but can't move forward without policy actions.
Materials Chemistry: Gelation process could turn spilled oil into skimmable fat for easy cleanup.
In Europe, new refrigerants will be fluorocarbons, not carbon dioxide.
Government: Energy Secretary Mounts New Efficiency Program For Federal Buildings.
Nanoparticulate platinum catalyst that resists carbon monoxide poisoning could lead to longer-lasting fuel cells.
A semitransparent penetrating stain might prevent the metal and other inorganic preservatives from escaping from treated wood.
To settle lawsuits brought by industry groups, EPA has proposed to change its rule requiring industrial plants to report emissions of greenhouse gases.
A report from the National Research Council estimates how much change in precipitation and crop yields may occur for each degree of human-caused global warming.
FDA has joined the Tox21 collaboration, a multiagency effort to better predict the effects of chemicals on human health and the environment.
Tire manufacturer Bridgestone will spend $94 million to expand capacity at a Japanese plant that makes adhesive films for solar modules.
Specialty chemical firm Süd-Chemie will build what it calls Germany's largest cellulosic ethanol plant.
Water Pollutants: Researchers worry improper sewage sample collection will miss fluctuating contaminant levels.
Air Pollution: In Denver, swapping plug-in electric hybrids for gas-powered cars might help cut ozone-causing pollutants.
Environmental Pollutants: People's diet, not their local environment, best determines their pollutant loads, study concludes.
Waste Management: New tool to assess environmental impacts highlights the benefits of producing electricity through waste incineration.
Water Pollutants: Scientists develop new way to proactively monitor groundwater contaminants in city streams.
Appeals court rejects company's argument that part of law is unconstitutional.
Alternative Energy: Exxonmobil, Synthetic Genomics facility will help optimize algal fuel production.
Alternative Fuels: Lithium batteries and battery materials get a big boost from electric cars.
Research: Energy Department issues $92 million in frontier grants.
The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and the Natural Resources Defense Council have petitioned FDA to close a loophole that exempts pharmaceutical companies from assessing the environmental impacts of new drugs.
Chemical manufacturing was the fourth largest sector releasing or transferring pollutants in North America during 2006, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) says.
Some $2.4 billion in federal seed money for advanced batteries, provided through the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA), will lead to new jobs and spur a growing domestic battery and electric-vehicle industry, President Barack Obama said last week at Compact Power, a new battery plant under construction in Holland, Mich.
BP's North American biofuels business has agreed to acquire Verenium's cellulosic biofuels business for $98.3 million.
New Zealand-based cleantech firm Lanza-Tech has raised $18 million in its second round of financing, led by China-focused venture capital firm Qiming Ventures.
Water Pollution: New model suggests larger cuts in nitrogen pollution needed to shrink the Gulf's dead zone.
Energy: Researchers observe liquid crystals in crude petroleum for the first time.
Water Pollution: Scientists measure chemical at levels one-million times greater than previously detected.
Start-Ups: First half brought record funding for clean-technology firms.
Crop Protection: BASF and Monsanto, Sumitomo and Nufarm link for new seeds and herbicides.
Accidents: Senate confirms chair, member of chemical safety board as BP spill investigation begins.
Water treatment businesses adapt their portfolios to meet new regulations and reduce costs.
EPA draft report on dioxin's health risks draws fire.
Researchers delve into the unknowns of airborne particulates that affect health and climate.
Chloride outcompetes organic thiols in seawater, allowing methylmercury to bioaccumulate in seafood.
GlaxoSmithKline and Singapore's Economic Development Board have started disbursing funds to academic researchers in green pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is asking for feedback on its intent to place strict controls on eight compounds under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization & Restriction of Chemical substances (REACH) program.
An unambiguous definition of the term nanomaterial is needed for regulatory purposes, a July 2 report from the European Commission's Joint Research Center concludes.
Oil Spill: Dispersants show little endocrine disruption activity.
Emissions: EPA targets smog, particulate matter and agrees to review hazardous pollution limits.
Water Pollution: Bioavailable nitrogen levels may jump after wastewater leaves treatment plants and hits saltier rivers.
Environmental Pollutants: An almost 90% drop in the mutagenic pollutants in urban areas could be part of a longer 20th-century trend.
Air Pollution: A new technique to measure stinky compounds will help fight pig farm odors.
EPA proposal targets smog, particulate matter, and acid rain.
Energy Department's Undersecretary of Science talks about laying the groundwork for a clean-energy revolution.
Experts call for long-term monitoring, coordination to address human health effects of BP oil spill.
Cobalt water-oxidation catalysts benefit from federal initiatives to harness solar power to make fuel.
Kilogram-scale O2 oxidations safely carried out in a flow reactor.
Green Chemistry: Method directly adds CO2 to aromatic C–H bonds.
Politics: Senators meet with President, but show little interest in climate legislation.
Health: FDA urges halt to nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics in livestock, poultry.
California regulators are stepping up pressure on manufacturers to replace toxic chemicals.
The Department of Energy's 2009 move to withdraw its permit application from consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Survey of climate scientists provides insights not readily revealed by climate models.
Energy: A new source of electricity could come from mixing fresh and salty water.
Health: Agency completes first round of tests on set of eight oil dispersants, including Corexit 9500.
Today C&EN launches a stream of news articles about environmental research, business, and policy.
Natural Gas: Reserves are big, but demand by electric utilities is likely to grow, MIT report says.
Researchers determine why two closely related airborne pollutants harbor divergent genotoxicity.
FDA takes first steps to identify hazards in tobacco products and smoke.
The Obama Administration plans to issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deepwater oil drilling.
EPA inspectors will formally invite employees and union representatives to participate in safety checks at.
Where some see pollution, Andrew Bocarsly sees products.
Start-up companies introduce two routes to stay environmentally friendly after you're dead and gone.
Atmospheric Chemistry: Researchers demonstrate a fast, powerful mass spectrometry technique to monitor secondary organic aerosols.
California: State's draft rule targets toxic chemicals in consumer products.
Chemical safety board will investigate the causes of the BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Pools can use five to six times more water and energy in arid climates than in more-temperate places.
Environmental Pollutants: Reducing methylmercury intake nationwide could save money by preventing heart disease and IQ drops
Industry Cleanup: Agency urges Congress to pass legislation reinstating tax on chemicals and oil.
Green Honors: Obama Administration recognizes superlative pollution-prevention technologies.
Toxic Substances: Children's levels are higher than their mothers'.
With regulatory threats growing, the American Chemistry Council steps up advocacy.
UN talks begin rebuilding process to craft an emissions treaty following Copenhagen letdown.
Wyoming has become the first state in the nation to require the energy industry to disclose which chemicals are used in hydraulic fracturing.
The Senate approved legislation last week amending the Toxic Substances Control Act to establish emission limits for formaldehyde in composite wood products.
EPA has put four of its ongoing human health risk assessments on hold because they rely heavily on tests conducted by the Ramazzini Institute.
The Department of Energy announced it would provide $612 million—to be matched by $368 million in private funding—for three projects.
BP Spill: Industry chiefs defend practices, while noting response plans' shortcomings.
President urges action on climate change and breaking U.S. dependence on fossil fuels.
Chemical Exposure: The presence of "non-persistent" pesticides suggests that pregnant women experienced recent or chronic exposure.
Environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico Reveals U.S.'s inability to plan for, control, and clean up oil spills in deep waters.
Synthetic Chemistry: Oxidative cyclization route to chiral drug scaffolds is metal-free.
Gas Tragedy: Judge in India rules that former Carbide officials were criminally negligent.
Firms are hoping new environmental regulations will spark greater sodium bicarbonate demand.
EPA aims to disclose now-redacted chemical names in industry-supplied health, safety studies.
Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) want the Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board to investigate the BP oil spill.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given the green light to Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Plenish—genetically modified soybeans.
A nuclear energy research center or “hub,” the first of what could become many research hubs, was recently announced by the Department of Energy.
EPA has repealed an industry-sought deregulation that allowed certain hazardous wastes to be burned as fuel in industrial boilers.
EPA has set a new health standard that further limits emissions of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant known to trigger asthma attacks and cause other respiratory problems.
Toxic substances: The dust in U.S. homes may be a primary exposure source.
Scientists are being intimidated and harassed because of their research, they tell Congress.
Congress, GAO point to consistent flaws in CDC units environmental health practices.
Environmental group draws attention to risks posed by use of toxic chemicals.
EPA has released a draft pesticide permit that sets the stage for a debate about pesticide spraying activities.
The University of Virginia is pushing back against Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II’s fraud probe.
Formaldehyde is carcinogenic when inhaled by humans, EPA concludes.
A new report finds 24% noncompliance levels among companies inspected for their enforcement of Europe’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization & Restriction of Chemical substances.
Insights: Forty years of environmental protection is showing some benefits.
Plastic bags are “upcycled” into a material that could find new life printer toner, tires, and more.
Water pollutants: Sewage treatment plants that serve drugmakers release pharmaceuticals at high concentrations.
ACS is the leading employment source for recruiting scientific professionals. ACS Careers and C&EN Classifieds provide employers direct access to scientific talent both in print and online. Jobseekers | Employers
Join more than 161,000 professionals in the chemical sciences world-wide, as a member of the American Chemical Society.
» Join Now!
