Rubbertown, Louisville
Coordinates: 38°13′07″N 85°50′12″W / 38.2185°N 85.8366°W Rubbertown is a neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky located along the Ohio River. During World War II it became the home of many industrial plants which remained after the war and lead to its name. Its largest businesses include American Synthetic Rubber, Borden Chemical, DuPont Dow Elastomers, Noveon, Rohm and Haas, & Zeon Chemicals.
History
The Rubbertown industrial complex was created with construction by Standard Oil of Kentucky, who built an oil refinery in the area in 1918. Two other companies would come to the area for similar business in the 1930s, Aetna Oil and Louisville Refinery. These refineries were producers of fuel, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha, oil, and petroleum coke. These refineries have since been torn down and replaced by petroleum terminals. From 1924 to 1959, Bond Brothers, the largest railroad tie manufacturer in the United States, had operations in the area.
World War II
Upon the arrival of World War II, Rubbertown exploded with activity. In 1941, the U.S. Office of War Production, contracted with National Carbide, constructed a calcium carbide/acetylene gas plant. They were also involved with the B.F. Goodrich Corporation to build an adjacent plant. A company known as E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (later to become DuPont) was also contracted in 1941, but they built a Neoprene synthetic rubber plant.
Later on in 1945, Union Carbide built a plant in the complex to manufacture butadiene from grain alcohol that was piped to Rubbertown from distilleries in Louisville. Also in that year, a consortium of five tire companies known as National Synthetic Rubber opened a plant to make styrene-butadiene rubber for tires needed in the war effort.
Mid-1900s
For many years after the war, the federal government would continue to operate the styrene-butadiene rubber plant, up until 1955. In that year, the plant was auctioned off to 20 rubber companies. Also in that year, DuPont built a Freon production block next to its Neoprene plant. The company would also add an additional unit to manufacture vinyl fluoride.
In 1961, the Union Carbide plant was sold to Rohm and Haas to create acrylic plastic and such products. In 1979, Borden Chemical Inc. opened a building to produce formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde resins, phenolic resins, and adhesives.
Modern Industry
Rubbertown is host to 11 large chemical plants, the largest source of industrial emissions in the Jefferson County area. The Rubbertown area accounts for 42% of air emissions in Jefferson County. [1]
Since the area is a potential health issue to residents, in recent years it has come under attack by various organizations in the community. As a result of increasing pollution the Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT) group was established in April 2003 as a campaign of the Justice Resource Center. The group consists of Rubbertown residents who believe that clean air is a human right and use legislative, judicial and political action to improve air conditions. REACT became an independent grassroots organization later that year. REACT is fighting for:
- Strong laws to stop toxic air pollution from chemical plants;
- The protection of residents in the event of a leak, fire or explosion in a chemical plant or railcar;
- Full disclosure and easy access to information concerning the impact of Rubbertown industry emissions on residents living nearby.
References
Further reading
- "History of Rubbertown". Courier-Journal. 2003-10-26. pp. 21A.
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