Total has sold its consumer specialty chemicals business, Mapa Spontex, to U.S.-based Jarden Corp. for EUR335 million. Mapa Spontex manufactures and distributes baby care and home care products. Its portfolio includes baby bottles and nipples, sold primarily under the NUK, Tigex, Lillo, Fiona, and First Essentials brands, as well as sponges, rubber gloves and cleaning products, sold primarily under the Mapa and Spontex brands.

Violation

The New Mexico Environment Department has issued a notice of violation to Helena Chemical Company over the firm's groundwater cleanup plan for a Mesquite fertilizer facility. State officials said they also rejected the company's request to operate without an air quality permit. The department said Helena hasn't agreed to mitigate for fluoride, chloride and dissolved solids, which are above certain levels and qualify as contaminants. The company has submitted a cleanup plan that addresses only nitrate levels in groundwater. A Helena spokesperson said the company's Mesquite operations don't produce anything that would generate the other water contaminants.

Purchase

Monsanto Company has completed the purchase of the Chesterfield Village Research Center located in Chesterfield, Missouri. The company had previously announced an agreement to acquire the property from Pfizer Inc. The 1.5 million-square-foot research center includes 250 laboratories, 108 plant growth chambers and two acres of greenhouses. The site will support Monsanto's robust R&D pipeline and its stated goal of doubling yields in its core crops by 2030.

Contribution