How many Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists does it take to bungle a trade and environmental story about Kenya and irresponsibly wreak havoc in a country that fears its sovereignty is being threatened? Just one, unfortunately. But don’t cast all the blame on the reporter in question — save a majority of it for the primary source, […]
A national outreach program that provides critical emergency training to communities across the country is getting a boost thanks to bipartisan legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama back in 2015. The law, called the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act or “FAST Act,” provided long-term funding to the Department of Transportation […]
Have you ever counted all of the items you physically touch in a day? Everything from the soap you lather on your hands, the shoes you lace up on the way out the door, the TV remote you grab to watch your favorite show, the mobile phone you dial to call a family member, or […]
Workplace safety is a top priority for the American Chemistry Council (ACC), and that’s why we are excited to participate again in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Safe + Sound Week, August 10-16, 2020. Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August to recognize the successes of workplace health and […]
On June 4, EPA moved a step closer to improving the Clean Air Act (CAA) rulemaking process with a proposal to enhance consistency and transparency in considering the benefits and costs of proposed rules. Yesterday ACC joined other industry groups to submit comments on EPA’s proposal. The importance of benefit-cost analysis Effective, efficient regulation […]
This week we will be launching into the sixth year of #ACCaugust. For the last six years, ACC has connected our amazing member employees with the elected officials who represent them at the state and federal level. With the chemical industry being designated as an essential business in the fight against COVID-19, it is more […]
ACC is committed to helping people better understand what we know, based on science, about microplastics and their potential effects on human health and the environment. Unfortunately, recent media coverage of a report on microplastics in dust and rain is more focused on generating unnecessary fear and concern. The headlines alone are sensational and ominous, […]
The World Needs Plastics to Live Sustainably; and to Live Sustainably, We Must End Plastic Waste Last week, the Pew Charitable Trusts released a new report, “Breaking the Plastic Wave: A Comprehensive Assessment of Pathways Towards Stopping Ocean Plastic Pollution.” The American Chemistry Council (ACC) welcomed the report and looks forward to working with the […]
In recent years, there has been a growing focus on creating more energy-efficient buildings, and that starts with ensuring that buildings are sealed from unwanted air infiltration. Did you know that as much as 40% of a building’s energy is lost to unwanted airflow? Failure to seal the building envelope leaves gaps and holes, drives […]
Polypropylene (PP) is a widely-used food packaging material—think yogurt cups, coffee pods, butter and sour cream tubs, and some food service takeout containers—for which there is growing demand for recycled content. The challenge is to be able to collect and sort polypropylene packaging to create a high-quality stream of post-consumer material, and to do so […]
Do you know how many electronic devices you have in your home? Ten, twenty, thirty? From televisions, to smartphones, to computers and gaming systems, electronics are an everyday part of life at home. In fact, the average home contains more than 20 electronic products, scattered throughout the entire house.[1] Striking the right balance between product […]
Personnel surety is a key element to properly vetting people who are allowed to come onsite to a chemical facility, which is why ACC and our members were glad to see the release of two much anticipated reports examining the effectiveness of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. The Congressionally mandated reports are important because […]
Today’s article in Environmental Science & Technology Letters makes several misleading claims about PFAS that need to be addressed. PFAS are a large and diverse universe of chemistries that makes possible the products that power our lives — the cellphones, tablets and telecommunications we use every day to connect with our friends and family; the […]
Dr. Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC America’s chemical industry is a $565 billion enterprise directly providing more than half a million high-paying jobs across the United States, according to the 2020 edition of the Guide to the Business of Chemistry, released this week. Each one of these jobs helps create others – more than 4.4 million, in […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on public health like never before. In the past few months, people around the world are coming to grips with the new reality in which we live, where the difference between sickness and health could be as simple as remembering to run a disinfecting wipe over a shopping […]
Recycling has faced strong headwinds over the past few years. China announced its National Sword policy restricting imports of recyclables in 2017, and other Southeast Asian countries following suit shortly thereafter. Long-established recycling markets were disrupted and communities had to search for newer, less-established markets for the plastics (and other materials) they collected. Now the […]
This week marked the four-year anniversary of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as reformed by the Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (LCSA). This significant update created clear and enforceable requirements and deadlines for EPA to assess both new and existing chemicals through a risk-based review process and increased public transparency for […]
Did you know that polyurethane products and technologies play an important role in promoting sustainability and reducing waste? The polyurethane industry is putting the power of polyurethanes to work by unlocking solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges. The versatility and durability of polyurethanes makes this material a vital contributor to helping achieve key United […]
Each hurricane season comes with unique challenges and this year is certainly no different. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast has called for a very active season that could involve almost twenty name storms in the Atlantic. We have already seen a tropical storm impact the U.S. coast before this season officially began and […]
Dean Curtis, President and CEO of ICIS We often forget how vital the chemical industry is to our well-being, safety and daily lives. The stigma around the issue of plastics waste in the environment often overshadows the progress the industry has made in becoming one of the more sustainable producers of critical products. In recent […]