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Virginia plant flagged by feds for repeated chemical releases

LUCA POWELL Richmond Times-Dispatch Apr 7, 2023

For decades, a sprawling plastics facility on the James River has been the crown jewel of Hopewell’s industrial hub. ... Under different names, including Honeywell and Allied Chemicals, the plant is part of the reason Hopewell earned its moniker as “the chemical capital of the South.” ... It’s currently owned by Parsippany, New Jersey-based AdvanSix and is a descendent of the company responsible for the 1975 Kepone disaster, which shut down fishing in the James for years.

Regulatory filings reviewed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch indicate that the plant has been flagged 66 times in the past eight years for violations of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, releasing toxic chemicals into Hopewell’s air, as well as into the James River. ... Hundreds of documents from Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality and the federal EPA offer a window into how one of area’s largest factories breaks environmental law, according to the agencies.



The AdvanSix plant is seen on Thursday, {February or March} 16, 2023,in Hopewell, Virginia.

SHABAN ATHUMAN, TIMES-DISPATCH

Since 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality have had the company on their radar. According to the EPA, AdvanSix violated the federal Clean Air Act, the country’s primary air quality law, every month over the past two years.

The Hopewell factory is one of the world’s largest production sites for caprolactam, a chemical used to make a strain of nylon known as Nylon 6. It’s product shows up in seatbelts, tires, clothing and rugs.

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Luca Powell (804) 649-6103
lpowell@timesdispatch.com
@luca_a_powell on Twitter