Swann Chemical Company

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Swann Chemical Company
FounderTheodore Swann

The Swann Chemical Company was an American chemical company started by Theodore Swann, described by one historian as "a flamboyant Birmingham mogul and New South industrialist." [1] Swann Chemical first operated a chemical manufacturing plant in Anniston, Alabama where PCBs were first made on an industrial scale after development of a new process under leadership of Theodore Swann. [2] The plant was later bought by Monsanto Industrial Chemicals Co. in 1935. [3] [4] [5] The plant, just west of Anniston, had around 1,000 employees. [1]

One historian wrote that, "In many ways, the spirit of Swann Chemical became the corporate culture of Monsanto." [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Spears, Ellen Griffith (April 2014). Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution, and Justice in an All-American Town. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 60. ISBN   978-1-4696-1171-6.
  2. Dracos, Ted (November 2010). Biocidal: Confronting the Poisonous Legacy of PCBs. Beacon Press.
  3. "Poisoned By PCBs: "A Lack of Control"". Chemical Industry Archives. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  4. Head, Thomas R. III (Spring 2005). "PCBs—The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Miracle" (PDF). Natural Resources & Environment: 18. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. Montague, Peter. "How We Got Here -- Part 1: The History of Chlorinated Diphenyl (PCB's)". HudsonWatch.net.