Chemical

August 30, 2026

MIT Building 18 Closed for Hazmat Evaluation After Chemical Incident Reported

MIT Building 18 chemistry facility closed through August 30 following chemical incident. Hazmat teams evaluate organomercury compound exposure; blood tests show no mercury contamination detected.

Gel nail polish being applied on fingernails

Business·Health·Policy

UK Bans TPO in Gel Nail Polish: August 2026 Effective Date & Salon Guide

UK regulators have banned trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO), a key chemical used in gel nail polishes, from August 15, 2026, following the European Union’s decision to ban the substance a year earlier. The Resident first reported the UK ban taking

August 19, 2026

Spain Chemical Fires Force 240,000 Indoors Amid Toxic Cloud, Lithium Battery and Solvent Blast Fears

Disaster·Europe·News

,Two dangerous chemical fires in Spain this May forced more than 240,000 people to lock themselves inside their homes, exposing serious safety risks in

Chemical Recycling: 80% Incineration, Only 0.1% Plastic Reused

Pollution·Recycle

Chemical recycling sounds promising—a technology that breaks down plastics into their molecular components to create new materials. But recent research reveals a different story.

Representative Image. Photo Source: Pxhere

Health

Organic Diet Slashes Pesticide Exposure by 60% in a Week

New research shows that eating organic food can quickly reduce the amount of pesticides in our bodies. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley tracked how changing diets affected sixteen people from

Tejal Somvanshi

February 25, 2025

Representative Image: A new life for solar panels: one step closer. Turning old solar panels into useful glass products. Photo Source: Maltha

Recycle

Solar Panels Transformed: 75 Tons Recycled into New Windows

Turning old solar panels into useful glass products is now possible, thanks to a recent breakthrough in recycling technology. Maltha Glass Recycling and glass maker Saint-Gobain have successfully converted 75 tons of

Sunita Somvanshi

February 14, 2025

MIT chemical engineers designed a two-part catalyst that can convert methane gas to useful products. The catalyst consists of iron-modified aluminum silicate plus an enzyme called alcohol oxidase (enzyme not pictured). Credits:Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

Materials·Pollution

MIT Catalyst Converts Methane to Polymers at Room Temperature

Chemical engineers at MIT have developed a hybrid catalyst that converts methane into polymers at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The research appears in Nature Catalysis. Methane contributes about 15% to global

Karmactive Staff

December 20, 2024

Lidia the Seal is an 8-foot by 10-foot sculpture made of flotsam like synthetic rope, lids, foam and plastic pieces, that washed ashore on the Pacific Coast.

News·Plastic·Pollution

Plastic Pollution Treaty in Busan Faces 196 Nations Debating Production Caps and Chemical Bans

The world’s nations gather in Busan, South Korea from November 25 to December 1, 2024, for what could be the final round of negotiations on a legally binding treaty to address plastic

Karmactive Staff

November 25, 2024

Health·USA·Water

Chemical in U.S. Water: Chloronitramide Identified in 40 Samples Across 10 Cities After 40 Years

Scientists have identified a chemical that has been noticed in American tap water samples since the 1980s – chloronitramide anion. This chemical, found in water systems serving about 113 million Americans, comes

Tejal Somvanshi

November 23, 2024

The plasma source is introduced close to the paper’s surface. The image shows the direct interaction of the plasma with the paper.

Materials

Plasma Polymers Turn Oregano Oil into Hydrophobic Barriers for Germany’s $503B Packaging Industry

Plasma-polymerized plant extracts are creating microporous hydrophobic barriers on cellulosic substrates at Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, offering a biochemical solution to Germany’s packaging waste challenge. The BioPlas4Paper

Rahul Somvanshi

November 20, 2024

Opinion·Plastic·Pollution

Petrochemical Peril: From Plastic Dependence to a Circular Economy

It becomes increasingly clear that our plastic production habits are a significant contributor, as we peer into the abyss of environmental crises. Exacerbating climate change, the production of new plastic, a process

Govind Tekale

July 31, 2023

Mobility·Sustainability·USA

The Soybean Car: Henry Ford’s Pioneering Contribution to Sustainable Automobility

In the early 1940s, Henry Ford, a renowned industrialist and visionary, pioneered an extraordinary concept in the face of impending metal scarcity: a car made from agricultural produce, aptly known as the

Karmactive Team

July 15, 2023

Food & Drinks·Health

Shocking Study Reveals Harmful Effects of Artificial Sweeteners: Sucralose Threatens DNA Integrity

In order to reduce their calorie intake, many people use artificial sugar. However, according to recent research, these substitutes may have health risks too. The findings of a new study suggest that

Govind Tekale

June 12, 2023