A seven-person investigation team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; www.csb.gov) is deploying to the scene of a fatal chemical release at the La Porte DuPont Plant located near Houston, Texas. According to DuPont officials, there was a release…
AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands; www.akzonobel.com) has partnered with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (Seris) at the National University of Singapore in order to explore less costly ways of producing high-efficiency silicon-wafer solar cells. AkzoNobel's High Purity Metalorganics (HPMO)…
The deadline for nominating someone for the 2014 Award for Personal Achievement in Chemical Engineering is quickly approaching. Please submit nominations by April 15. Details about the award and how to nominate someone can be found in the January issue…
The Occupational Safety and Health Admin. (OSHA; Washington, D.C.; www.osha.gov) is extending the comment period on its proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses by 30 days, to March 8, 2014.…
Orion Engineered Carbons GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany; www.orioncarbons.com) will cease production at its Sines, Portugal facility by the end of 2013. This decision came after an intensive review of its European carbon-black operations. The shutdown will take place while investments are being…
The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Admin. (OSHA; Washington, D.C.; www.osha.gov) has announced a request for information (RFI) seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards, as well as other…
Effective January 1, 2014, Professor Rafiqul Gani from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) will take office as president of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE; www.efce.org) for a two-year term. Gani succeeds the outgoing president, Professor Richard Darton,…
Kuraray ( Tokyo, Japan; www.kuraray.co.jp/en) and DuPont (Wilmington, Del.; www.dupont.com) have signed a definitive agreement for DuPont to sell Glass Laminating Solutions/Vinyls (GLS/Vinyls), a part of DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers, to Kuraray for $543 million, plus the value of the…
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Admin. (OSHA; www.osha.gov) has issued a proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. The announcement follows the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of its annual…
AEA Investors LP (www.aeainvestors.com) has signed an agreement to acquire the municipal, industrial and services water- and wastewater-treatment operations and assets of Siemens Water Technologies (Alpharetta, Ga.; www.water.siemens.com), a part of Siemens Industry Sector, for EUR 640 million. The transaction is…