EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that the agency will be pushing Dow to clean up the dioxin that has been plaguing the long stretches of the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers extending from Midland to the Saginaw Bay. In her letter to the community, Jackson said, “The EPA is stepping up our commitment to this site, in partnership with the state of Michigan, so that we can accelerate this cleanup and deal with the pressing threats to human health and the environment.” The process has been an extended one, aggravated in parts by the size of the cleanup area, the difficulties in dealing with dioxin, an on-again/off-again approach by the EPA, and perhaps most quietly a lack of consensus with the agency on both the threats of dioxin and how it ought to be dealt with in these cases.

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Memorial Day is behind us, and it’s time for Americans to take to the roads. With $4 gas prices gone and airlines and hotels offering steep discounts, the hope is that the current economic situation will not keep us from our summer vacations. As people try to save every last dollar, the recent economic stimulus bill tries to present alternative methods of travel: $8.4 billion slated for the preservation and expansion of rail transit. It sounds like a huge number, but is it enough? Will Americans flock to our rail lines and revive the tradition of rail travel, or are our rail systems too far gone? Can we save American rail transit, and knowing the consequences, do we really want to?
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A fire at the Sunoco Refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, on Sunday night demonstrates the conflict in balancing the community’s need to know with potentially misleading speculation. When chemicals are involved, the issue is compounded by a lack of technical knowledge by the public and reporters. The incident was triggered by an explosion at 10:15 p.m. in the refinery’s ethylene complex. Sunoco officials made their assessment public shortly after midnight. Was their response timely? Continue Reading »

About a year ago Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company made the announcement that they will take steps toward making the transition from 300-mm to 450-mm silicon wafers in 2012. This announcement reflects an important shift in the dynamics of the global semiconductor industry. What does making the transition from 300-mm to 450-mm wafers mean? It changes everything about the productivity and economics associated with semiconductor manufacturing. 

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During the episode of The Unusuals that aired last week, two cops look at a copy of the periodic table as part of a criminal investigation with only one recognizing it. Does the general public—the TV-watching audience—recognize the periodic table? This blog has discussed science  education before and wonders whether scientists would be better served by a public who might not recognize the periodic table but who can recognize the importance of science and scientific research.

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It’s the perfect day to sit under a tree and read a book, and beach-side reading is just around the corner!  In honor of the season—and The Center’s Controlling Chemicals project—I offer a summer reading list dedicated to fictional works in which chemicals are a theme. Continue Reading »