Chemical Industry Weekly News Round-Up, June 4

BASF, the world's largest chemical maker, named CFO Kurt Bock its next chairman this week. Bock will take up the post in May 2011, at the company's next shareholders meeting. Late last month, CW named Bock its CFO of the Year for 2010.

FECC, the European chemical distribution group, had its annual meeting in Barcelona this week. The group elected a new president, as Spanish distributor Quimidroga seeks to grow organically. That may be difficult, however, as the industry's recovery in Spain has been quite slow.

EU inspectors have found that nearly one-quarter of chemical firms with Reach obligations are not in compliance.

Two RPM subsidiaries have filed for bankruptcy in the wake of large asbestos liability claims. The filings will not impact RPM as a whole.

A report by the European Environment Agency shows that the EU is more than halfway towards its goal of cutting CO2 emissions 20% by 2020, BBC News reports. Emissions fell 11.3% in 2008, but the recession played a "key role" in that.

Nalco has "nothing to hide" regarding the oil dispersant whose use was pulled from the Deepwater Horizon clean-up, CEO Erik Frywald tells the New York Times. While Frywald acknowledged that using the dispersant, Corexit 9500, on a large scale was "a new approach," the chemical has been tested and is safe, he says.