Chemical plants printed on bank notes, and a firm’s museum closes in Japan

The chemical industry is in the money Last April, the Aamjiwnaang First Nation reported hazardous levels of benzene in the air in Sarnia, Ontario. In response, the Canadian government quickly imposed strict limits on area facilities known to emit the carcinogenic chemical. The new regulation was aimed primarily at a nearby plant run by Ineos Styrolution, which uses benzene to make styrene, a precursor for polystyrene and other styrenic copolymers. Styrolution shut the plant down after balking at the $50 million in upgrades that it would need to stay open. It was an abrupt end for what was once part of a storied petrochemical hub. In fact, in 1971, the Sarnia complex was such a source of pride for Canadians that the Bank of Canada printed its image on the Can$10 bill. The plant had been chosen, in part, because it was aesthetically attractive—with its scaffolding, distillation towers, and Horton