Companies looking for ways to reduce pollution need look no further than the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program has been collecting and distributing information about pollution prevention (P2) activities implemented at industrial facilities since the early 1990s.

Japanese design firm AMAM is developing a more environmentally friendly way to package goods without using plastic. Called Agar Plasticity, the product is derived from agar, a gelatinous material that can be readily found in red marine algae. The design team's project is one of four finalists for the 2016 Lexus Design Award, which is a contest that pairs each team with a design mentor to create a prototype for Milan Design Week.

Traditionally consumed as food in Japan, seaweed-derived agar has been used in scientific and medical applications across the globe. Because of its porous, lightweight, feathery structure the team took notice of these features and have been exploring its possibility as packaging material.

Erin Vogel, Ph.D., research scientist for industrial coatings at Dow Coating Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, accepted the American Coatings Award from the American Coatings Association and partner Vincentz Network during the conference's plenary session, Monday (April 11), the company announced. ...

Vogel's technical paper details the development of new alkyd chemistry offerings to help solve the industry challenge of developing environmentally friendly alkyd-based paints and coatings that resist corrosion, adhere well and remain glossy. ...

According to Dow, market trends have favored solvent-borne alkyds, particularly in industrial coatings, because of their fast hardness development, high gloss, excellent adhesion and overall corrosion protection. Despite these performance properties solvent-borne alkyd coatings contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that enter the air as coatings dry.

In contrast, waterborne alkyd coatings have low- and near-zero VOC capabilities, but developing waterborne alkyd chemistries that perform well has remained challenging because alkyds do not mix with water, the company said.

You may be getting more than fries with your burger.

Consuming fast food may increase your exposure to harmful chemicals called phthalates, STAT reports.

Phthalates are commonly found in food packaging and used in the production of fast food, according to STAT. Looking at data from 9,000 participants reporting their diet for the past 24 hours, researchers recently found the more fast food the person consumed, the higher the level of phthalates found in their urine samples.

GHS, which was established by the United Nations, aims to standardize the way hazardous chemicals are identified and labeled. OSHA set the US deadline, and says the new standard covers over 43 million workers who produce or handle hazardous chemicals in more than 5 million workplaces across the country.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production-volume chemical associated with a wide range of health outcomes in animal and human studies. BPA is used as a developer in thermal paper products, including cash register receipt paper; however, little is known about exposure of cashiers to BPA and alternative compounds in receipt paper.

Objective: We determined whether handling receipt paper results in measurable absorption of BPA or the BPA alternatives bisphenol S (BPS) and 4-hydroxyphenyl 4-isoprooxyphenylsulfone (BPSIP). ...

Results: Each receipt contained 1-2% by weight of the paper of BPA, BPS, or BPSIP. The post-shift geometric mean total urinary BPS concentration was significantly higher than the pre-shift mean in 33 cashiers who handled receipts containing BPS. The mean urine BPA concentrations in 31 cashiers who handled BPA receipts were as likely to decrease as to increase after a shift, but the mean post-shift concentrations were significantly higher than those in non-cashiers. BPSIP was detected more frequently in the urine of cashiers handling BPSIP receipts than in the urine of non-cashiers. Only a few cashiers had detectable levels of total BPA or BPS in serum, whereas BPSIP tended to be detected more frequently.

Amid ominous warnings about threats to pollinators and the food crops they make possible, garden-care giant Ortho said Tuesday it will stop using a class of chemicals widely believed to harm the most important pollinators of all: bees.

The company plans to phase out chemicals known as neonicotinoids by 2021 in eight of its products used to control garden pests and diseases.