Remains of the Buckeye Ordnance Works.
The Buckeye Ordnance Works was in operation for only three brief years during World War II, and was later used in the production of agricultural products, bio-fuel, and various chemicals in South Point, Ohio.
History
World War II spurred development of several ammunitions factories and suppliers across the United States. In early 1942, construction began on the Atmospheric Nitrogen Corporation, also known as Buckeye Ordnance Works, in South Point, Ohio.(3) The city and plant, as well as nearby Ironton, were placed in the Industrial Defense Zone.
Operations began in 1943, producing ammonium nitrate explosives for the United States military.(1)(2) After the war ended, in 1946, the plant was purchased by Allied Chemical Incorporated and the factory produced ammonia, urea, nitrogen fertilizer, melamine, formaldehyde, and urea formaldehyde until 1978.
Ashland Incorporated purchased the complex in the following year and proceeded to demolish many of the existing structures.(1) In its place, Ashland constructed a coal-water fuel pilot plant and a pitch prilling test plant that formed pitch into small pellets.
In 1981, South Point Ethanol acquired an 80-acre tract of land in the center of the former production area for ethanol production.(1) Four years later, Air Liquide Corporation’s division, Cardox, leased a section of the South Point Ethanol tract and proceeded to produce liquid carbon dioxide.
Both South Point Ethanol and Cardox ceased operations at South Point in 1995.(1) Two years later on January 1997, Air Liquide Corp. continued to use the site for liquid carbon dioxide storage and transfer until January 1997.(1)
In 2000, part of the ethanol plant grounds were used for a biofuel plant, but was closed almost as soon as it had opened due to numerous EPA violations (2). These related to the storage and handling of tobacco and wood waste. Work began in 2004 on the demolition and repurposing of several older structures, and the construction of new facilities as part of The Point, the region’s “premier” industrial park. It’s proximity to US 52, a four-lane expressway, a major rail line, and the mighty Ohio River is bringing life back to this varied industrial lot.
Today, the South Point Plant grounds are a large 610-acre Superfund site (1). It was listed under the National Priorities List in September of 1984, with extensive soil and groundwater contamination from the munitions, fertilizer, coal, and ethanol industries. Thankfully, only a small fraction was contaminated; the vast majority was left untouched.
Gallery
Sources
- United States. Environmental Protection Agency. “History of Contamination.” First Five-Year Review Report for the South Point Superfund Site. 4-5. 31 Dec. 2008 PDF.
- Herald-Dispatch (Huntington) 28 Oct. 2004. 6 Jan. 2007 Article.
- “Buckeye Ordnance, 1942.” Story of the Glorious Past, One Hundred Years. N.p.: n.p., 1949. 46.
No comments yet.