The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, carrying vinyl chloride monomer, a PVC feedstock, has dominated national headlines this week as the EPA and other officials have stepped in to continue testing. The move comes just weeks after Steve Toloken’s report of the EPA’s decision not to regulate PVC as a hazardous substance. The derailment has put the debate back into the spotlight and onto our front page, as well…
The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying vinyl chlorine monomer (VCM) and three other suspected carcinogens in southeast Ohio on Feb. 3 is likely to place renewed emphasis on rail safety, according to Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS). However, the accident will not affect VCM production, availability, or pricing, said the market intelligence and consulting company. VCM is a key ingredient in polyvinyl chloride (PVC). “The impact on the…
Photo Credit: Nova Chemicals In last month’s blog In Sustainable Packaging, the Word is ‘Monomaterial’, posted by my colleague, executive editor Matt Naitove, he addressed how a growing trend in packaging, and even outside of it, grew out of developments in materials and processing technology that all monomaterial structures—typically all-PE or all-PE—is aimed at replacing laminations, coextrusions and “composites” utilizing paper, aluminum, barrier resins or highly dissimilar polymers (like PET…
The Romans needed a holiday in midwinter as they didn’t do Christmas or New Year and followed the agricultural year, as did the Jews. The new moon told them when another month had passed. So they started the feast of Februa, which led to this month’s name. They knew about many elements and even made glass and bronze but didn’t understand chemistry and biology. We get it in school but…
We try to remain focused in Talent Talk on a single topic. In the weeks to come, we will go deeper into several workforce-related issues, but this week I want to soar to the altitude of a weather balloon (too soon?) and explore some megatrends we are seeing. Remote work is losing popularity, at least among employers. As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, remote jobs accounted for 13.2% of…
The expanded polystrene company expects to create 85 new jobs over the next few years thanks to growth at the company’s existing facility in Ohio.
For the year, sales at Parsippany, N.J.-based AdvanSix were up more than 15 percent to almost $1.95 billion, with profit up 23 percent to almost $172 million.
Air and private well monitoring is continuing near the site of a train derailment, fire and a burnoff of vinyl chloride monomer in East Palestine, Ohio, while the CEO of rail company Norfolk Southern Corp. says the company “will not walk away” from the community.
Extrusion and material handling system and parts supplier Entek is developing its largest twin-screw extruder to date — a 160-mm machine. Although Entek produces replacement parts in sizes up to 250 mm, the largest extruder it has offered to date is a 133-mm model. The new machine is being designed by a team of engineers at company locations in Oregon, Nevada, and California. The first extruder is scheduled to ship in Q4 of next…
Prominent mention of VCM as a threat to residents of East Palestine, Ohio, after the freight-train derailment there brought back memories of researching our December 1974 cover story on the crisis in the vinyl industry caused by recognition of VCM toxicity in the workplace. The horrific consequences of the Feb. 3 derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio have ignited a firestorm of public debate…