A federal appeals court on Monday denied a petition by two unions to force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to adopt stricter limits on worker exposure to metalworking fluid mist. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled unanimously against the United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers of America, concluding that OSHA did not act unreasonably in December when it denied a 10-year-old request by the unions to lower the permissible level of...

The U.S. Department of Justice and Crompton Corp. announced Monday that the company has agreed to plead guilty to participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the rubber chemicals market. Observers said the activities in question did not appear to involve rubber process oils or products used in the lubricants industry. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Crompton agreed to pay a $50 million fine and cooperate in the departments ongoing investigation. Neither the company nor the...

Hatco Corp. announced last week that it has entered a technical agreement with ApNano Materials Inc. to develop novel lubricants using the worlds first commercialized nanotechnology-based solid lubricant. ApNano is a two-year-old start-up that markets the lubricant in question under the brand name NanoLub. Based in New York City, the company is headed by President and Chief Executive Officer Menachem Genut, who helped discover novel inorganic nanostructures at the Nanomaterials Synthesis Group o...