Chemicals

There is much concern in the U.S. about energy sources and our dependence on foreign oil. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking of shale may be a partial solution to this issue of energy independence. That's the good side of fracking. There's also a potentially bad side, and that is the contribution of exposure to chemicals associated with fracking to the decline of human health in communities, particularly rural communities. In her recent op-ed ("The hidden health risks of fracking," July 20)

Having determined that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad has used chemical weapons against his opponents in the country's bloody two-year civil war, the Obama administration is now reportedly preparing to send lethal military aid to rebel forces battling the regime. Mr. Obama said earlier this year that any use of chemical weapons by the Syrian military would cross a "red line" that invited a U.S. response. Now that American intelligence has confirmed Syria has crossed that line, the U.S. response must be measured but leave no doubt that the use of such weapons will not be tolerated.

In their op-ed "Rethinking chemical safety" (May 23), Brenda Afzal and Jenny Levin appropriately alert us to the health risks related to chemicals in our environment. However, they might have also included the biggest proven chemical danger to our health, namely cigarettes. In their article they discuss many of the most hazardous chemicals in our food, water, air and consumer products but failed to mention the dangers of cigarettes and tobacco smoke, which contain about 4,000 chemicals, at least 50 of which are known to cause cancer.

The National Transportation Safety Board released new details Wednesday on its investigation into last month's train derailment and explosion in Rosedale, finding that more chemicals were released in the crash than originally reported. NTSB investigators also found that stop signs at the grade crossing where a truck and freight train collided were faded and had been taken off their original mountings. The report is preliminary, and the board has said its full investigation into the derailment could take a year or more.

Charles Erwin Brookes, the retired chief of W.R. Grace's Davison Chemical division, died of a heart attack Nov. 1 at the Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Fla. The former Gibson Island resident was 86. Known as Charlie, he was born in Orange, N.J. His son, Stephen Brookes of Washington, D.C., said his father came from a "family of very modest means. " At one time his parents addressed envelopes for a business by hand to make ends meet. At age 12, Mr. Brookes won a scholarship to the St. Mark's School in Southborough, Mass.

Lawmakers in Annapolis are being asked to ban products containing two chemicals that have triggered serious concerns about toxicity. On Tuesday afternoon, the House Health and Government Operations Committee aired HB33, which would ban the sale, manufacture or distribution of children's toys or child-care articles such as baby bottles made with bisphenol-A, or BPA. The bill, sponsored by Del. Jim Hubbard, a Prince George's County Democrat, would...

Newborn babies begin life with dozens of man-made chemicals in their blood, according to a report released yesterday by the Environmental Working Group in Washington. Blood from the umbilical cords of 10 infants born in U.S. hospitals in 2004 showed an average of 200 industrial compounds, pollutants, pesticides and other chemicals, according to the study. Newborn blood has been analyzed before, but never for such a broad array of chemicals, said Jane Houlihan, the group's vice president for research.

A public meeting to update neighbors on the removal of chemicals from a Patapsco Drive home will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Hall.The store of chemicals left behind when Phillip Small died Dec. 16 should be removed by Friday, saidLeanne Nurse, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.Nurse said the approximately 1,000 containers, ranging in size from 2 ounces to 2 gallons, have all been sealed or contained in plastic, impermeable drums.

A leaking valve or gasket is suspected of causing a chemical spill at a Brooklyn Park pharmaceutical plant that led residents to complain about a strong stench, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment said Friday.Quentin W. Banks, the spokesman, said MDE's emergency response team was notified about 5 p.m. Thursday of a spill at Consolidated Pharmaceuticals Group Inc. in the 6100 block of Robinwood Road. The plant produces penicillin."The Consolidated Pharmaceutical people were emptying a storage tank into a tank they use for waste material" when the spill occurred, Banks said.

Navy investigators are probing a break-in last week at the U.S. Naval Academy's chemistry department in which several chemicals that combined to create an explosion were stolen, academy sources said.Academy spokesman Paul Weishaupt confirmed yesterday that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the break-in at Michelson Hall, which took place in the early morning hours of Nov. 22 and was discovered later that day.He would only confirm that chemicals were taken, but would not comment on their explosive nature, saying it was all under investigation.

As a reminder of just how persistent some toxic chemicals can be, a Johns Hopkins-led research team reports finding traces of long-banned DDT and PCBs along with other contaminants in the blood of 50 pregnant women checked from Baltimore and its suburbs.  In a study posted online by the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology , the scientists say they detected more frequent and vigorous fetal movements in the wombs of...

Editor: "Thank You" from the Patterson Mill High School Class of 2013! The Patterson Mill High School PTSA Chemical Free Events Committee worked hard to FUNdraise over $20,000 for Chemical Free After Prom and After Graduation Parties for the Class of 2013. Our #1 priority at Patterson Mill is keeping the students safe as they celebrate their senior year. And we did just that with the help of parents, faculty and our Community! We would like to extend a heartfelt "THANK YOU" to the following businesses and individuals who graciously contributed to our events with either a donation of money, food, drinks or a gift.

In his recent speech, President Barack Obama set forth what he described as narrow, reasonable guidelines for using drones to carry out targeted killings overseas. The U.S., he said, will only use drone strikes "against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people. " Moreover, the U.S. will only act when other governments are unwilling or unable to stop terrorists in their territories and we do not have the ability to capture them. These guidelines still give the U.S. a self-granted license to use remote-controlled planes to kill people at its discretion around the world, and, worse, they further institutionalize this dangerous new type of warfare.

A column of smoke rose into the sky as firefighters raced to the scene of the train derailment. The earth heaved as an explosion rattled residents and pushed windowpanes from their frames. At least one tank car was on fire - no one was sure what else. It happened Tuesday in Rosedale and it happened on July 18, 2001, when the Howard Street Tunnel beneath the city shook violently and chemical-laden cars belched toxic fumes for days. Little has changed in nearly a dozen years. The rails and highways that crisscross the crowded metro area still carry a daily stream of poisons and explosives.

The freight train that derailed Tuesday in Rosedale carried one chemical classified as hazardous by the U.S. Department of Transportation and another that also posed risks for firefighters and others at the scene even though not similarly classified. There might have been residues aboard of a third chemical that also is highly corrosive and hazardous. State health officials, however, said the incident represented only a low risk to the public. CSX spokesman Gary Sease said at least one of the dozen rail cars that appeared to be involved in the derailment contained sodium chlorate.

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. said Wednesday that its net income in the first quarter fell about 13 percent from the year-earlier period, in line with its warning to investors and analysts earlier in the month. The Columbia company said sales volumes didn't drop, but revenue took a hit as a result of lower pricing and an unfavorable change in the Venezuelan exchange rate. "Sales and earnings were below our expectations," CEO Fred Festa said in a statement. W.R. Grace said it produced $52.9 million in net income during the first three months of the year, compared with $60.9 million in the first quarter of last year.

Though assured by health officials that chemicals found in the home of a man who died here three weeks ago pose little risk, neighbors reacted angrily to the news and remain concerned that the materials contaminated their own properties.County and state health officials told more than 50 residents at a Wednesday meeting in the Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Hall that they have seen no evidence of any radiation hazards or any leakage or dumping of chemicals kept by PhillipSmall in his Patapsco Road basement and shed.

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. on Wednesday announced preliminary first-quarter net income of $52 million to $53 million, or 68 cents to 69 cents per diluted share. Grace, based in Columbia, will report full earnings April 24 for the quarter that ended March 31. The company had reported earnings of $60.9 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2012. Preliminary results for the most recent quarter show operating income of $77 million for the catalysts technologies division, with sales of about $266 million, Grace said.

Many Americans would be surprised to learn that chimpanzees are still being used in biomedical research and that millions of other animals are utilized in consumer product and toxicity testing. Others may find a sense of security in knowing that this practice continues to provide information on which chemicals and products are deemed safe. The fact is that it doesn't have to be this way, and there are a number of public health, economic and animal welfare reasons to change our ways. The evolving process by which the U.S. regulates chemicals is important to every American household.