Ohio environmental officials are trying to address the toxic chemical plume in Chillicothe's groundwater that the now-closed Pixelle paper mill helped keep the chemicals in check.
Pixelle Specialty Solutions pumped more than 1 billion gallons of water from wells near the site to use at the mill for decades, helping prevent cancer-causing chemicals from spreading into town. The chemicals leaked in the 1990s from the nearby WearEver plant, a former cookware manufacturer.
The WearEver plant is now owned by HowMet Aerospace.
Ohio EPA records from 2022 indicated that if the paper plant closed, it would be a "worst case scenario." Chillicothe and state officials say there's no immediate threat to residents from the contaminants and efforts are being made to improve monitoring.
A contractor working with Howmet Aerospace wrote in a report last week to the OhioEPA that it will install two new monitoring wells.
The report said if the wells detect the chemicals are migrating now that Pixelle is closed, Howmet could consider remediation efforts.
The Chillicothe paper mill closed, which employeed 700 people, closed on Sunday. State and federal officials had been working to find a buyer for the 200-year-old mill.
The soil and groundwater tested positive for extremely high levels of trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride for decades. The last report from the Ohio EPA released in July showed TCE levels at 15 times the "maximum contaminant level" for TCE and 100 times over the maximum level for vinyl chloride.
For decades, seven existing wells have checked whether the chemicals migrated. The Ohio EPA has already found that when the paper mill paused its well use during the COVID-19 pandemic and for maintenance in the 2000s, the pauses correlated with a spike in TCE concentrations.
The Ohio EPA said in a statement they will work closely with Howmet to continue protecting human health and the environment in the area.
The report said HowMet Aerospace it is willing to work the Ohio EPA to determine the potential human health and environmental risks and work with landowners who may potentially be impacted by a potential chemical spread.
