Posts under ‘Toxic contamination’

A vote in the EU has paved the way for the European Commission to restrict the use of pesticides linked to bee deaths in scientific studies. There is great concern across Europe about the collapse of bee populations. Neonicotinoid chemicals in pesticides are believed to harm bees and the European Commission says they should be [...]

Financial Post Staff | 13/04/26 Three workers at a Shell Canada refinery in Sarnia, Ontario were sent to hospital Friday morning following a hydrogen sulphide exposure at the facility. “Shell can confirm the three workers were exposed to hydrogen sulphide (H2S) while cleaning equipment at the refinery,” a company statement said. “The workers are in [...]

The Brazilian units of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Germany’s BASF agreed to pay 370.8 million Brazilian reais ($187 million) to settle a lawsuit over suspected contamination at a now-shuttered pesticide plant, Brazil’s Supreme Labor Court said Monday. By Jeff Fick: Dow Jones Newswires: Published April 08, 2013 The Brazilian units of Royal Dutch Shell [...]

This BBC article relates to our recent posting “We wondered who was killing off all the bees: Shell?” The issue in contention is whether neonicotinoids, first developed by Shell Oil in the 1980s to replace the highly toxic organophosphorus insecticides, are in fact lethal to honeybees and songbirds. By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News: [...]

Intro by John Donovan: We wondered who was killing off all the bees. Now we know: “First developed by Shell Oil in the 1980s to replace the highly toxic organophosphorus insecticides, neonicotinoids promised an environmentally friendlier solution that was both safer for humans, and more potent against pests. Synthetic derivatives of nicotine, neonicotinoids are designed [...]

On three dates, records showed, Shell emitted more toxic compounds in a single day than its permits allowed in an entire year. Shell Reports Equipment Failure, Flaring at Deer Park, Texas, Refinery -Filing Published March 10, 2013 by Dow Jones Newswires Shell Oil Co. said equipment failure at its Deer Park Refinery in Deer Park, [...]

Residents of the Carson Carousel neighborhood marched in protest from Dolphin Park to a Shell Oil facility on Wilmington Avenue Friday evening. The Carousel tract is built over a former Shell Oil tank farm and contamination was discovered in the soil in 2007. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is overseeing Shell’s clean-up [...]

By John Donovan: We have been please to assist at their request an association representing former workers at a Shell/Basf Chemicals factory in Brazil. The factory was built in 1977 by Shell. Dozens of former employees of the plant have been diagnosed with prostate, thyroid and other types of cancer, circulatory, liver and intestinal illnesses, as [...]

…the reality is that despite condemnation by the UN Environment programme in 2011, despite Nigerian government promises, NGO fury and mounting despair in the communities, Shell’s oil spills go on, the gas flaring continues and the people of the delta remain as poor as ever. The verdict is due tomorrow. People affected in the Niger [...]

At 10 am on 30 January, the court in The Hague will rule on the case of Milieudefensie and four Nigerian farmers versus Shell. The public sitting in this case took place on 11 October last year. The court case is unique because it is the first time that a Dutch multinational has been brought [...]

The development of Alberta’s oil sands has increased levels of cancer-causing compounds in surrounding lakes well beyond natural levels, Canadian researchers reported in a study released on Monday. And they said the contamination covered a wider area than had previously been believed. “Now we have the smoking gun,” Professor Smol said. The study is likely [...]

Published December 21, 2012 by Dow Jones Newswires Motiva Enterprises LLC most likely will not be able to restart for a few more days a main processing unit at its refinery expansion in Port Arthur, Texas, a person familiar with the refinery’s operations said Friday. Motiva has been struggling to restart the 325,000-barrel-a-day refinery expansion’s [...]

Just what is needed in pristine Arctic waters: An accident prone Drilling Company employed by a reckless greedy oil giant with a notorious “Touch F*** All” offshore safety culture and a track record of unconscionable, untreated environmental devastation e.g. Nigeria. By John Donovan Last month the Noble Discoverer drilling ship involved in Shell’s hapless inaugural season [...]

By Naomi Martin, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on December 08, 2012 at 10:57 PM, updated December 08, 2012 at 11:28 PM A malfunctioning Shell Chemical unit located on the Motiva Enterprises campus in Norco that lost power on Thursday was restarted about 10 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from the company. The company [...]

By Juliet Linderman, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on December 06, 2012 at 3:17 PM Just five days after an equipment failure at the Shell/Motiva plant caused massive flares to shoot flames and leak thick black smoke into the air above St. Charles Parish for days on end, the Norco chemical complex announced on Thursday morning [...]