TunnelBug
Abandoned Chemical Plant Silo - Missouri
LaRoche Industries Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), was an international diversified producer and distributor of inorganic and organic chemicals and once operated six production facilities throughout the United States.
The Company was formed in a 1986 management buyout of the nitrogen, mixed fertilizers and retail business operations of United States Steel Corporation ("USX"), followed by a 1988 acquisition of certain chemical production operations of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation ("Kaiser").
LaRoche didn't last long. By the 1990s it was entering bankruptcy and by 2000, this property in Festus, MO - a producer of blasting grade ammonium nitrate, nitrogen, and nitric acid - among other dangerous and volatile compounds, was sold to the nearby cement plant.
Nearby residents suffered for decades from the pollution and danger of the plant. As one resident noted: "I went to middle school very near here, when the plant was still active. In fact, we had to do drills where everyone would go to the cafeteria and seal the doors and windows with plastic and duct tape in case of a chemical leak at the plant. I hadn't thought about this place in years."
Abandoned Chemical Plant Silo - Missouri
LaRoche Industries Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), was an international diversified producer and distributor of inorganic and organic chemicals and once operated six production facilities throughout the United States.
The Company was formed in a 1986 management buyout of the nitrogen, mixed fertilizers and retail business operations of United States Steel Corporation ("USX"), followed by a 1988 acquisition of certain chemical production operations of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation ("Kaiser").
LaRoche didn't last long. By the 1990s it was entering bankruptcy and by 2000, this property in Festus, MO - a producer of blasting grade ammonium nitrate, nitrogen, and nitric acid - among other dangerous and volatile compounds, was sold to the nearby cement plant.
Nearby residents suffered for decades from the pollution and danger of the plant. As one resident noted: "I went to middle school very near here, when the plant was still active. In fact, we had to do drills where everyone would go to the cafeteria and seal the doors and windows with plastic and duct tape in case of a chemical leak at the plant. I hadn't thought about this place in years."