
Industry
Chemicals

Canada’s exports to grow 2% in 2016, Ont. and PEI lead at 7%: EDC
Auto, aerospace and consumer sectors to power growth nationally.
S2G begins bio-based glycol production in Memphis
Usable sugar-based glycols to serve as a drop-in replacements for petroleum-based chemicals.
500 kids sick at Chinese school built on toxic soil
Previous testing may have overlooked chemicals and heavy metals involved in pesticide manufacturing next to the site.
Green chemistry from bio-based feedstocks is going global
BCC Research forecasts $1.5 trillion annually as renewable products replace existing products.
DuPont won’t reopen Texas plant where 2014 leak killed 4
Safety board found neither workers nor the public were safe from chemical exposure by equipment or safety procedures.

Sika opens new mortars and concrete plant in Surrey
To serve Pacific Northwest region with a population of 8 million people.
Sherwin-Williams buying rival Valspar for $11.3B
Combined company would have annual revenue of $15.6 billion.

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Unilever India settles mercury poisoning claims
Workers’ group says 45 workers and 18 family members died over a period of 33 years.
ExxonMobil sued over Baton Rouge plant’s emissions
Suit alleges pollution from the chemical facility jeopardizes the health of nearby residents.
Small spill near former GM plant in St. Catharines investigated
Firefighters found a very small leak or spill into the creek.
China moves 10 chemical plants after explosion review
Problems found at 85 Tianjin facilities following August warehouse accident.
NY manufacturers to pay for fouled water cleanup
Perfluorooctonaoic acid used in products for decades has contaminated Hootsick Falls groundwater.
Plastic industry wants Brossard to halt proposed bag ban
Canadian Plastic Bag Association says ban is based on faulty information and doesn’t consider negative impacts.

Ottawa to ban plastic microbeads in personal care products
Tiny plastic beads found in facial cleansers, toothpaste are polluting lakes and rivers.
Ford testing after chemical found outside Livonia plant
Vinyl chloride from past manufacturing processes identified in underground water.
Dow Chemical adds paid weeks to parental leave
Mothers will receive a minimum of 12 weeks, non-birthing parents two weeks.
Dow, Dupont merger would form chemical producer worth more than $130B
DowDuPont would be split into three companies, focused on materials, agriculture and specialty products.
DuPont and Dow reported to be in merger talks
They would create the world’s second-largest chemical company, behind BASF SE
Backward integration to push resins growth
New report says processor compounders will see their share of the market grow fastest
Chemours chemicals business cutting 5% of global jobs
DuPont spinoff to stop production in Niagara Falls, NY by the end of 2016
Nevada researchers trying to turn roadside weed into biofuel
The sunflower’s sticky cousin is on the verge of being turned into diesel fuel, and someday could fuel jetliners.

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DuPont opens $225M plant to make ethanol from cornstalks, leaves and cobs
The facility’s ethanol will go into Tide laundry detergent, replacing the corn-based ethanol long used to stabilize the detergent formula.
Barton Solvents to pay $1.1M EPA settlement
And it must change processes at six of its Midwest plants.
9 killed in China chemical plant blast
Factory makes explosives for mining.
Shell to spend $55M to clean soil at old LA County rubber plant
Benzene, propane, butane and other chemicals were dumped into unlined pits at the 280-acre complex for more than 30 years.
Pipeline ammonia leak sickens 20 in China
White fog-like gas shrounded the area surrounding coal plant.
US cracking down on synthetic pot
Ten charged with manufacturing drug with illegal chemicals imported from China.
Death toll rises to 158 in Tianjin chemical warehouse explosions
Authorities say 15 people remain missing.
Another chemical factory explodes in China
One fatality reported just weeks after the massive Tianjin blasts.
Explosion at chemical plant in China kills 1
Nine people injured, cause of the blast under investigation.