This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
LSB Industries manufactures nitrogen-based chemical products for agricultural markets, including ammonia-based fertilizers and concentrated nitric acid used in pesticide formulations. The company's El Dorado Chemical Co. subsidiary was cited for pesticide-related violations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), including the unlawful distribution or sale of pesticides. While LSB's primary revenue driver is fertilizer production, its chemical operations directly support the agricultural pesticide supply chain.
In 2014, LSB Industries paid $725,000 in penalties as part of a Clean Air Act settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Justice Department. The company's El Dorado concentrated nitric acid plant was later destroyed in an explosion in May of the following year. These incidents reflect operational risks associated with its chemical manufacturing activities.
LSB Industries operates chemical manufacturing facilities producing industrial and agricultural chemicals, primarily ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate solutions. The company's subsidiaries have accumulated a documented pattern of environmental violations, particularly under the Clean Air Act. In 2014, three of LSB's subsidiaries—Cherokee Nitrogen Company, El Dorado Chemical Company, and Pryor Chemical Company—entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice and EPA to resolve allegations of Clean Air Act violations at facilities in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The settlement required LSB to commit to significant cuts in air pollution and to bring its operations into compliance.
ViolationTracker documents eight environmental enforcement actions against LSB Industries, resulting in over $1 million in penalties. This includes four water pollution violations with penalties totaling $268,632. While LSB established formal sustainability goals in 2023 targeting a reduction in its environmental impact, the company's historical record shows a pattern of operational incidents and regulatory non-compliance resulting in toxic contamination.
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A digest of changes to our exclusion list — new additions, removals, and the evidence behind them. We review the list continuously as new evidence surfaces.
Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
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