CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A video and set of images provided to the Ohio Atomic Press have raised questions about alleged chemical dumping at the now-shuttered Chillicothe paper plant, located about an hour south of Columbus.
The video, which was reportedly taken by a former employee at the facility, appears to show a chemical barrel labeled sodium aluminate with a corrosive placard being flushed into a floor drain. A separate image shows a dark, pulp-liquor-like substance on the ground in what appears to be the same area.
The footage was sent to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, whose press secretary confirmed in an email: “We have received your video and images and are looking into this.” The agency noted the last recorded inspection of the facility’s chemical storage areas occurred on July 14, 2010, when the plant was categorized as a Small Quantity Generator under hazardous waste rules.
The Ohio Atomic Press has not been able to independently verify when the video was taken or confirm the precise location inside the plant. Repeated efforts to reach the individual who provided the footage have so far gone unanswered.
Questions also remain about whether the plant’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit would have allowed for the disposal of sodium aluminate or pulp liquor through floor drains. According to a now retired long time employee at the plant, they said, "They do sometimes triple rinse drums in the drain. I have seen them dump corrosive cleaners down the U-drains when we were shutting down."
The Chillicothe paper plant, owned by Pixelle Specialty Solutions has currently ceased operations. The plant has long been one of the region’s largest industrial employers. The site’s future remains uncertain.
This is a developing story!
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