Welcome to the September 2026 edition of Distilled News, where we take a look at the top stories trending on ChemicalProcessing.com. I’m Jonathan Katz, executive editor of Chemical Processing.

We kick off this month’s recap with a look at a U.S. court ruling that could have a far-reaching impact on the Toxic Substances Control Act.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that banned most uses of methylene chloride, an industrial solvent often used as a paint stripper.  

In a 44-page opinion issued Sept. 15, Judge Edith Jones wrote that the agency ignored studies that showed methylene chloride didn’t cause significant adverse health effects and failed to account for the use of personal protective equipment by workers who were exposed to the substance.

Jones also noted that the agency used the smallest temporary impacts on certain body functions and then applied inflated benchmark exposure measures.  

The American Chemistry Council issued a statement following the ruling, saying it reinforces that decisions under TSCA must be based on scientific evidence and real-world conditions. The industry group said the court’s ruling rejected the so-called “whole-chemical” approach to regulation, affirming that the agency should carry out risk determinations based on individual applications and the use of personal protective equipment.

However, an environmental health advocacy group called Toxic-Free Future said the ruling comes at the expense of public health, putting people exposed to the chemical at risk of cancer and possible death from acute exposure.

"We have known for decades that methylene chloride exposures can cause cancer, neurological and liver effects, and can be deadly for consumers and workers,” said Liz Hitchcock, director of federal policy at Toxic-Free Future. “Congress updated TSCA in 2016 so that EPA could finally take action to get dangerous chemicals like methylene chloride out of our homes and workplaces. Mothers whose sons lost their lives due to this chemical fought hard for a ban on this notoriously deadly substance.”

In 2024, the Biden-led EPA finalized a ban on most uses of methylene chloride under TSCA.

At the time, the agency’s announcement included several statements of support, including one from a woman whose son died in 2017 after exposure to the substance.

The Fifth Circuit decision could have broader implications for other chemical reviews under TSCA, wrote attorneys from Sidley Austin LLP on the firm’s website.

In addition, courts reviewing TSCA rules for other chemicals may disagree with the Fifth Circuit’s reasoning, leading to a “substantial litigation risk for future TSCA reviews, according to the Sidley Austin attorneys. 

On the litigation side of chemical safety, Chemours, DuPont and Corteva have reached a $455 million settlement with North Carolina and 11 local entities over claims involving PFAS and other historical discharges from Chemours' Fayetteville Works facility, as well as alleged PFAS contamination unrelated to the site.

The companies announced the settlement Sept. 10. The agreement covers litigation brought by the state and local entities near Fayetteville Works and includes state claims involving PFAS contamination from sources such as aqueous film-forming foam.

Payments will total $455 million over 15 years, beginning within 30 days of execution of the agreement. Chemours will be responsible for 50% of the payments, with DuPont and Corteva responsible for the remaining 50% under a 2021 memorandum of understanding among the companies.

Chemours said its share is approximately $180 million on a net present value basis and is covered by existing accruals. The company expects to pay approximately $50 million during the next 12 months. Of the total settlement, $18 million is attributed to alleged PFAS contamination unrelated to Fayetteville Works. 

We now turn to company news, with BASF announcing Sept. 21 that it is evaluating a potential investment in an MDI production complex in India.

The company is in the advanced stages of a feasibility study and has secured an industrial land parcel for the potential project through BASF India Polyurethanes. A final investment decision will depend on the feasibility study and required approvals, BASF said.

MDI is a key building block for polyurethane products used in building insulation and refrigeration as well as automotive components, furniture and consumer goods.

BASF said the potential project would expand its manufacturing footprint in India and support a local-for-local supply model for customers in India and neighboring markets.

The announcement comes as the company enters the final phase of a roughly $1 billion MDI expansion in Geismar, Louisiana.

BASF’s potential India investment comes as major producers continue to expand or evaluate MDI capacity in several regions. BASF’s Geismar expansion is designed to increase the site’s MDI output to 600,000 metric tons per year, while Covestro announced plans in June for a 660,000-metric-ton-per-year MDI production train at its integrated Shanghai site. Covestro is also evaluating a similarly sized MDI train in the United Arab Emirates.

Kemira, a Finnish company that specializes in materials for water-intensive industries, has started pilot operations for iron phosphate production at its site in Helsingborg, Sweden, as the company develops battery-materials production for Western markets.Iron phosphate is a chemical precursor used to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials for batteries used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems and other industrial applications.

The pilot facility bridges laboratory-scale development and potential industrial-scale production. It will allow Kemira to produce larger material volumes for customer testing, product qualification and process development while evaluating the requirements for a potential full-scale production facility.

“With the start-up of the Helsingborg facility, Kemira is becoming one of the first producers of iron phosphate in Europe focused on serving Western battery markets,” said Peter Ersman, the company’s executive vice president of new ventures and services.

The company intends to use the pilot plant for product validation and manufacturing process development as it evaluates potential future scale-up. The company noted that future investment in commercial-scale production will depend on successful customer qualifications and market development.

That’s it for this month’s edition of Distilled News. Visit ChemicalProcessing.com for the latest updates on the industry. Until next time, I’m Jonathan Katz. Thanks for listening.