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A federal program aimed at securing potentially dangerous chemicals is now in jeopardy after being beset by a series of deep-seated problems, including wasteful spending and a largely unqualified workforce that lacks "professionalism," according to a scathing internal Department of Homeland Security report obtained exclusively by Fox News. In 2007, Congress established the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program, which directs DHS to collect and review information from U.S. chemical facilities to determine whether they present a security risk. It is overseen by the Infrastructure Security Compliance Division -- or ISCD.

IDF sources claimed Monday night that new intelligence information obtained by Israel in recent days shows that participants of the flotilla planning to break Israel’s sea blockade over the Gaza Strip later this week plan to kill IDF soldiers who board their ships. According to the information obtained by the IDF, some of the participants have prepared a number of sacks with sulfur, which they plan to pour on the soldiers as they board the vessels. “This is a chemical weapon and if poured on a soldier it can paralyze him,” an IDF source told The Jerusalem Post Monday night....

Oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005 to 2009, according to an investigation by Congressional Democrats. The chemicals were used by companies during a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, which involves the high-pressure injection of a mixture of water, sand and chemical additives into rock formations deep underground. The process, which is being used to tap into large reserves of natural gas around the country, opens fissures in the rock to stimulate the release of oil and gas. Hydrofracking has...

Bowcock also said they have found much higher pollution levels than expected. Some areas, he said, are showing levels that are 400 times higher than the recommended public health goal. While the utility believes the contamination is affecting an estimated 100 households, he believes the number is closer to 250. "I don't think PG&E ever had their arms around the problem entirely," said Bowcock, adding that he was stunned by the results. PG&E said it has not seen Bowcock's water testing results but remained committed to working with the community and the water district.

The chemicals were stored in vats in the basement of an Egyptian restaurant in downtown Brussels. The suicide bomber, a former soccer player who had fallen into drug use and petty crime, had been selected. The target, the American Embassy in Paris, had been scouted. All that remained was the signal from Osama bin Laden's operatives in Afghanistan to strike. The nod was to come from a Frenchman of Algerian origin who was on his way back from training in Afghanistan. But he was arrested in transit, and he talked, spilling to French interrogators details of what could have been ...

-- snip --The Wall Street Journal however reports good news today in its story, "Edible Ingredients Used to Drill for Gas." Apparently Halliburton and Baker Hughes have developed fracking chemicals using fatty acids and other ingredients found in toothpaste, ketchup, ice cream and beer. The enemies of cheap natural gas of course won't congratulate Halliburton for being a good steward of the planet and switch their position. I wonder where the next attack will come from. Fatty acids in the edible fracking chemicals lead to an obesity epidemic in the caribou population?

Chemical fire, some evacuation near Sheffield (Illinois)Residents of Sheffield and Wyanet awoke this morning to a large, black cloud of smoke emanating from Euclid Chemical near Hennepin Canal State Parkway state park. The fire was not showing signs of getting smaller at 9:30 a.m. As of about 10 a.m., authorities were asking residents in an area east of Route 40 and west Princeton for several miles to stay indoors and keep windows closed. At 9:20 a.m., police closed U.S. 6 and U. S. 34 between Wyanet and Route 40 in addition to the earlier closing of Route 40 from the...

SNIPPET: "The police arrested two terrorist suspects at the house: Fahri Tanjung, also known as Hilmi, and Hamzah. The police also found chemicals they believed were to be used to make explosives and an activated hand-made high-explosive bomb inside the house. West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman said the police detonated the high-explosive bomb on location after failing to defuse it. Books and VCDs on jihad, as well as an air rifle were seized as evidence. One of the VCDs was titled Afghanistan jihad: The journey of the oppressed. Sutarman said the suspects had been involved in acts of...

A jury on Friday convicted three men of Middle Eastern descent of plotting to recruit and train terrorists to kill American soldiers in Iraq. The men — Mohammad Amawi, 28, Marwan El-Hindi, 45, and Wassim Mazloum, 27 — face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors said the men were learning to shoot guns and make explosives while raising money to fund their plans to wage a holy war against U.S. troops. Defense attorneys charged that the three defendants, who all lived in the Toledo area, were manipulated by a government informant. The jury returned its verdict after three...

Israel published Monday its "black list" of goods it will not allow into the Gaza Strip, under a new policy whereby its four-year-old siege of the coastal territory will now be defined by a list of goods to be kept out, rather than by those allowed in. The banned products include arms and munitions and items which could be used to develop, produce or enhance the military capabilities of the Gaza militias, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Five years ago Molly and Zachery Gray were in the midst of a dark, lonely spiral. It began with Molly's first miscarriage. "It was a really emotional process of being so joyful and so happy and ready to make that step into parenthood and that being pulled away from you," said Molly, 32. "[The pregnancy is] happening and all of a sudden it's gone. It's really hard." After a second miscarriage the Grays were on a desperate hunt for answers. After Molly got pregnant a third time, she heard about a small study to test the blood of pregnant women...

EPA steps in to slow things up...

Note: Video and photos included at link. Photos reveal inside look at East Austin tunnel home by NOELLE NEWTON / KVUE News Posted on May 18, 2010 at 5:34 PM Updated today at 6:14 PM SNIPPET: "The City of Austin Tuesday released photos of the web of tunnels a man dug underneath his East Austin home. Under the yellow home are three stories of tunnels. For at least two years, neighbors suspected owner Jose Del Rio was up to something strange, but had no idea just how busy he'd been." SNIPPET: "On Tuesday, the city released pictures from below taken...

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

"Air Force strikes in Gaza" SNIPPET: "IDF retaliates for deadly Qassam attack: Air Force hits several Gaza targets, including metal foundry, smuggling tunnel; Vice PM Shalom says Israel to offer strong response to rocket attack that killed Thai worker Thursday" SNIPPET: "IDF aircraft struck at least four targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses said." SNIPPET: "Israel also sent a letter of complaint to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Israel at the weekend,...

The President’s Cancer Panel is the Mount Everest of the medical mainstream, so it is astonishing to learn that it is poised to join ranks with the organic food movement and declare: chemicals threaten our bodies. The cancer panel is releasing a landmark 200-page report on Thursday, warning that our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health. I’ve read an advance copy of the report, and it’s an extraordinary document. It calls on America to rethink the way we confront cancer, including much more rigorous regulation of chemicals. Traditionally, we reduce cancer risks through regular doctor...

"Alleged Bomb Maker Arrested in Murder-for-Hire Plot" SNIPPET: "TAMPA, FL—On Friday, April 23, 2010, the Tampa FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which consists of numerous representatives from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, arrested JOHN NICHOLAS COORS, age 20, without incident. COORS was arrested in Tampa, Florida, after meeting with an undercover law enforcement asset (UCA) and attempting to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED)." SNIPPET: "According to the federal complaint, the JTTF initially learned about COORS during November 2009. The JTTF received information that COORS was trained in “special forces” type military tactics, considered himself a mercenary,...

If manufacturing is leading the global recovery, chemicals are greasing the skids. While industry giants DuPont (DD) and Dow Chemical (DOW) are doing OK, several specialty chemicals firms are outperforming. Like many other IBD 100 firms, these companies have found a formula for turning modest sales gains into large profit growth. 12. KMG Chemicals Inc. (KMGB) The maker of electronics chemicals and other specialty products has enjoyed three straight quarters of triple-digit earnings growth. But sales have barely budged. They rose 2% in fiscal Q2 after three straight quarters of year-over-year declines.

An American Airlines flight with 145 people on board made an emergency landing Tuesday in Iceland after five crew members became ill following reports of chemical fumes in the cabin. American Airlines Flight 49 traveling from Paris to Dallas-Ft. Worth landed safely just after 1345 GMT (9:45 a.m. EDT). The source of the fumes was being investigated, Keflavik Airport spokesman Fridthor Eydal said.

from Norfolk Southern Railroad, according to Henderson County ...The men, both of whom appear to be illegal aliens... ordered to be held on ICE detainers pending deportation proceedings. Sheriff Rick Davis praised the work of the two deputies who apprehended the suspects while investigating suspicious activities on the tracks... found the suspects in possession of over 500 spikes that had been taken from a stretch of active rail road track. “This act of theft could have easily had catastrophic consequences had a train derailed in this area,” Davis said. “A spillage of chemicals or other hazardous materials as a result...

Man exposed to mustard agent at Umatilla chemical depot Posted: Mar 31, 2010 5:48 PM Updated: Mar 31, 2010 5:53 PM Video Gallery Man exposed to mustard agent at Umatilla chemical depot 0:57 KENNEWICK; Wash-- SNIPPET: "The depot is still waiting to hear back from independent lab results but early indications from the CDC are positive. About two weeks ago, a worker developed a blister on his skin, which is one of the symptoms." SNIPPET: "The man's name has not been released. He also hasn't missed any work as a result of the exposure."

Scientists now tell us there is something in our waters that we least expected. That “something” is a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, and Dr. Vicki Blazer, a fisheries biologist at the United States Geological Survey, thinks the chemicals are responsible for the high concentrations of intersex fish found in the Potomac, and other rivers in the mid-Atlantic. The chemicals also prove a threat to human health, but a bit of explanation, first. Our body’s endocrine system is a complex network of glands and hormones that regulate growth, development, and the operation of various organs. The endocrine glands (for...

Hundreds of goats browse through a field, nibbling and foraging through the available fare. These aren't just any goats, though — they are the work force of Lariat Ranch Ecological Ser- vices. The business, based in Powell Butte, owns nearly 400 head of Spanish Boer and San Clemente goats. The goats' job is to pursue their love of eating. Their tastes include noxious weeds found on the High Desert, such as medusahead, hemlock and Russian thistle. Lariat Ranch is the only prescribed grazing company in Central Oregon. Prescribed grazing is a green way to clear fields without using chemical herbicides....

SNIPPET: "The Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa stated, citing a Sunni Ahwazi organization opposed to the Iranian regime, that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has equipped Russian SS-4 missiles with chemical warheads – mustard gas, sarin, and cyanide – and that they are aimed at the Gulf countries and other Arab countries. The SS-4 has a range of about 2,000 km. According to the report, the IRGC has stepped up research of biological weapons research..."

Sources in Washington say Sen. Frank Lautenberg is drafting a new version of his Kids Safe Chemicals Act, which stalled out in 2008 after environmentalists complained the bill was toothless and didn’t grant the EPA enough power to regulate chemicals used to make products. Lautenberg’s new version of the bill is likely to increase the EPA’s authority to limit – or even ban – the use of common chemicals. As the EPA’s carbon “endangerment finding” in December has demonstrated, it might not be such a good idea to vest virtually unlimited power in a single government agency, especially one that...

An al Qaida-linked suspect who allegedly tried to blow up a transatlantic plane is studying at a UK university, it has been reported. The Nigerian is accused of trying to detonate a powdery substance on a plane from Amsterdam as it prepared to land at Detroit with 278 people on board. US sources said he was subdued by passengers and has since claimed to have been acting for al Qaida. He has been named by ABC News as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, an engineering student at University College London, with the broadcaster citing US government documents. The suspect, who has...

SNIPPET: "A team of researchers convened by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began a series of tests today at 20 MBTA stations to determine how airborne contaminants would spread in a terrorist attack on Boston's subway system." SNIPPET: "The findings will help guide the design of future detection systems and help strengthen evacuation, ventilation, and other emergency response plans on mass transit across the country. "We hope to use the data from the two to come up with a model to predict the behavior (of chemicals) in other subway systems," Lustig said."

SNIPPET: "Iraqi soldiers foiled a potentially deadly suicide attack today at the border crossing at Al Qaim in western Anbar province. From Aswat al-Iraq (Voices of Iraq): “A force from the 28th infantry division managed to defuse a car bomb and to kill its driver in al-Qaim, Anbar province,” said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The suicide driver carries the Kuwaiti nationality, and had on his possession a fake ID issued from Baiji,” the statement added. “The car was loaded with three tons of Chlorine and C4 as well as other chemical materials,” it added. Having closely...

November 9, 2009 Volume 87, Number 45 p. 12 Clorox To Stop Using Chlorine Plant Security: Bleach maker will end shipment of hazardous chemical Michael McCoy Citing a desire to improve security, Clorox says it will stop making its namesake bleach out of chlorine and sodium hydroxide. Instead, the big household-products company will purchase high-strength bleach of up to 15% concentration and dilute it to household strength of 6%. The company will convert its Fairfield, Calif., plant within the next six months and switch its six other U.S. plants over the coming years.Clorox’ announcement came three days before the House...

Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys, making them "more feminine", say US researchers. Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys' toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found. The University of Rochester team's latest work adds to concerns about the safety of phthalates, found in vinyl flooring and PVC shower curtains. The findings are reported in the International Journal of Andrology. Plastic furniture Phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones, and have been banned in toys in the EU for some...

Chemicals found in many plastics are causing little boys to act more like little girls, according to new research.

Study: Chemicals in plastic can make boys act more like girlsBy Rosemary Black DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, November 16th 2009, 4:09 PM Chemicals found in many plastics are causing little boys to act more like little girls, according to new research. A team at the University of Rochester studying the safety of phthalates -- chemicals in the plastic used in many household objects – found that they can actually disrupt hormones, according to BBC News. The chemicals affect the baby's developing brain by deactivating testosterone, the male sex hormone, according to the BBC. In the study, scientists tested urine...

Two-year-old children are being exposed to dangerous levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in domestic products such as rubber clogs and sun creams, according to an EU investigation being studied by the government. The 327-page report says that while risks from "anti-androgen" and "oestrogen-like" substances in individual items have been recognised, the cumulative impact of such chemicals, particularly on boys, is being ignored. The EU's environment council of ministers is due to agree on a regulatory approach to the use of so-called "gender-bender" compounds before Christmas. On Monday, EU officials will try to work out a strategy for creating risk assessments of...

Here's something rather rotten from the State of Denmark. Its government yesterday unveiled official research showing that two-year-old children are at risk from a bewildering array of gender-bending chemicals in such everyday items as waterproof clothes, rubber boots, bed linen, food, nappies, sunscreen lotion and moisturising cream.The 326-page report, published by the environment protection agency, is the latest piece in an increasingly alarming jigsaw. A picture is emerging of ubiquitous chemical contamination driving down sperm counts and feminising male children all over the developed world. And anti-pollution measures and regulations are falling far short of getting to grips with it....

A federal grand jury has indicted three Ohio men on terrorism charges alleging they plotted to kill U.S. and coalition military personnel in Iraq and other countries. The three men were arrested over the weekend and were to be arraigned in federal courts in Cleveland and Toledo on Tuesday afternoon, said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Bauer. According to the indictment unsealed Monday, the three suspects recruited others to train for a violent holy war against the United States and its allies in Iraq. The indictment says they traveled together to a shooting range to practice shooting guns and studied how...

SNIPPET: "After the 4 July DDoS attacks, wrongly attributed to North Korea, it’s wise to treat reports of DPRK security hacks with some caution. Nevertheless, The Korea Times reports the following: Classified Info on Dangerous Chemicals Hacked Hackers stole classified information on dangerous chemicals in their raid on the South Korean army computer network in what was believed to be an attack by North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday, quoting government officials." SNIPPET: "The Sydney Morning Herald adds more information: A North Korea cyber warfare unit hacked into a South Korean military command earlier this year and stole some...

Are chemicals in our environment masculinizing girls and feminizing boys? A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that this is the case, and one of the latest studies has linked exposure to a substance known as bisphenol A, or BPA, with aggressive behavior in girls. Liz Szabo reports on the research in USA Today, writing, “In the study of 249 pregnant women, the first to examine the effects of BPA on children's behavior, researchers found that girls ... were more likely to be aggressive if their mothers had high levels of BPA — an estrogen-like chemical used in many consumer...

FIVE Sydney men have been found guilty of conspiring to plan a terrorist attack using high-powered guns and homemade bombs designed to cause mass death and destruction on Australian soil. A Supreme Court jury took four weeks and three days to find Mohamed Ali Elomar, 44, Abdul Rakib Hasan, 40, Mohammed Omar Jamal, 25, Moustafa Cheikho, 32, and his uncle Khaled Cheikho, 36, guilty of conspiring to do acts in preparation for a terrorist act or acts. The Daily Telegraph reports the men, all from Sydney's south-west, were accused of stockpiling weapons and chemicals for use in the pursuit of...

It was midsummer in suburban Denver when an unassuming, bearded man pushed a red shopping cart between shelves stacked with hair coloring and nail polish remover. By the time Najibullah Zazi checked into a nearby hotel suite with a kitchen in September, he had at least 18 bottles of peroxide-based hair lighteners and pages of notes for how to turn the beauty products into bombs, authorities say.

BULLETIN -- NEW YORK POLICE AND FBI RAID HOMES IN QUEENS IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

As the fire and homicide investigation continues, officials say several firefighters were exposed to cyanide gas in two separate incidents as they were mopping up hot spots near the small city of Acton on the northern edge of the massive blaze. The poisonous cyanide fumes are suspected in acute breathing problems suffered by Los Angeles firefighters battling the Station Fire in the Aliso Canyon. One firefighters suffered life-threatening respiratory arrest and remains in hospital after she was knocked out by noxious fumes on Sept. 1 near Acton. Two days later, six firefighters suffered severe breathing difficulties in another part of...

September 7, 2009 Mass murder at 30,000 feet: Islamic extremists guilty of airline bomb plot Philippe Naughton Three British Muslims were found guilty today of conspiracy to murder thousands of passengers and crew in an unprecedented airline bomb plot that could have proved as deadly as the 9/11 attacks. After a retrial at Woolwich Crown Court, jurors found the ringleader, Abdulla Ahmed, and two other men, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain, guilty of plotting to use liquid bombs to blow up airliners en route from Heathrow to the United States. Another defendant, Umar Islam, was found guilty of a more...

Israel's air force fired around 20 missiles at targets in Gaza City on Saturday, causing heavy damage, a Reuters witness said. The IDF has confirmed the report. (Hanan Greenberg and Reuters)

Robert Mueller deals in chemicals for a living -- things that can unstick glue, thin paint, make plastic -- but he'd never seen an order like the one he got for sodium silicate. The compound is typically used to repel bugs or seal concrete, but this buyer's online order form betrayed a whole different intent: "To Kill Car Engines." "That worried me a little, so I picked up the phone and called the gentleman," recalls Mr. Mueller, an owner of chemical-firm CQ Concepts Inc. in suburban Chicago. What Mr. Mueller discovered is that sodium silicate is the designated agent of...

BERKELEY -- A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing explosive materials at a home in the Berkeley hills, police said today. Emoru Oboke Obbanya, 27 was arrested .. by officers investigating a 911 hang-up call at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Obbanya refused to open the door at first, then came outside and immediately closed the door, police Lt. Andrew Greenwood said. He appeared nervous, cursed the officers and refused to provide evidence that he lived there, police said. Officers decided to search the home to make sure no one inside needed help, Greenwood said. They obtained...

Americans use more 200 million pounds of fireworks each year, the majority on July Fourth. Because fireworks emit carbon dioxide (CO2) as they burn, however, the fireworks industry may come under tighter regulation if cap-and-trade legislation passes in the Senate in coming months. A cap-and-trade bill already passed in the House on June 26, which has raised concerns that Americans will soon be paying more for energy. The House bill, called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, introduces the possibility of calculating the amount of carbon emitted by products and labeling the products with this information. “The...

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea's massive stockpile of chemical weapons is as threatening as its nuclear program, analysts said Thursday, highlighting an aspect of the secretive regime's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction that is rarely talked about.

SNIPPET: "SANTA CRUZ, Calif - Homes on 25th Avenue in Santa Cruz were asked to evacuate for a second time on Wednesday night after police found more hazardous materials in a nearby home that made them nervous. Homes within a 300 diameter of 215 25th Avenue had to evacuate, however it was not mandatory. All residents were able to return to their homes by 8 p.m. on Wednesday night." SNIPPET: "This all started on Tuesday when the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office received a call from the County Environmental Health Agency. They received a tip from a local freight agency...

UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (OneWorld.net) - Environmental groups and indigenous rights activists are calling for the White House and U.S. Congress to ratify an international treaty against the use and production of certain hazardous chemicals. "Time is running out. The Congress has to take a stand and fight for the lives of the contaminated people and environment of the North," said Andrea Carmen, executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council. Carmen and other activists, who are attending international talks on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Geneva this week, say they have grave concerns about the...

Chemical Warning: Bodies In London Hotel Two people have been found dead in a hotel room after a chemical incident, emergency services said. Police and fire services were called to the Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, north London just before midday. The hotel has been evacuated. A spokeswoman for London Fire Brigade said: "We are treating this as a confirmed chemical incident. The hotel has been evacuated and cordon implemented." She said the substance involved was not known at this stage. The bodies are still at the scene, police said. A Met police spokeswoman said: "Police were called at...