CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — The Chillicothe Paper Plant, once Ross County’s largest employer and a defining force in the local economy, closed in 2025 after nearly two centuries in operation. Today, the sprawling industrial site is owned by a medical‑glove manufacturer, but only a small portion of the workforce has been called back. Most of the massive complex now sits silent — rusting, hollowed out and carrying a toxic legacy that is only now coming into full public view.
EPA Data Shows a Long Trail of Pollution
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the mill remained one of southern Ohio’s largest industrial polluters until its final year. The EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) — a national database that requires facilities to report how much of each listed toxic chemical they release or manage annually.
In 2024, the plant reported 455,288 pounds of toxic air emissions, far below the tens of millions of pounds released during the 1980s but still enough to classify the facility as a major source of air pollution in the Scioto Valley.
The EPA also issued a $234,440 Clean Air Act fine in 2025, just days before the closure of the mill was announced. According to the EPA, inspectors found the mill’s steam stripper — equipment required to remove hazardous compounds — was operating at roughly half its mandated efficiency. Water‑quality records show the plant violated the Clean Water Act in 11 of its final 12 quarters.
Inside the Mill: A System Built to Bypass Alarms
A longtime employee who spent more than 25 years in the pulp mill and electrical shop reached out and described an alleged pattern of intentional monitoring manipulation and chronic equipment failures that kept the plant running even when pollution levels exceeded EPA limits.
The worker claims:
- Conductivity probes that triggered shutdowns were routinely cooled with water hoses to prevent automatic shutdowns. Removing the hoses would cause a shutdown warning within minutes.
- The Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) was calibrated in a way that forced the machine to “pass” daily, even when emissions were high. Workers were expected to hit calibration spans while pollution levels were elevated, effectively teaching the system that illegal emissions were acceptable.
- Chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) alarms in the bleach plant went off “all day long” due to constant leaks. The alarms became so routine that workers ignored them.
- Black liquor and white liquor — highly caustic pulping chemicals — regularly pooled in areas where alarms were broken or bypassed.
- Hydraulic fluid leaks were so severe that barrels were added “sometimes daily” just to keep equipment operating.
- In waste treatment, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) levels were so corrosive that a new copper penny left in a control room would turn black overnight.
The worker described the plant’s maintenance culture as simple: “Run it until it breaks.”
The Guardian could not independently verify the claims levied by the former employee.
Health Concerns in the Community
Over the decades, the Chillicothe Paper Plant ranked among the nation’s highest industrial air polluters. Ross County has consistently reported lung cancer rates above both state and national averages.
Public‑health experts caution that no single source explains the region’s cancer burden. However, environmental scientists say the mill’s long history of chemical emissions — combined with individual risk factors such as smoking — may have contributed to the area’s elevated rates.
A Workforce Left Behind
The longtime employee said the plant’s safety culture deteriorated over the decades. He claimed that workers often received minimal protective gear. The worker also described witnessing serious accidents at the facility over the years.
“My family worked there for generations,” the employee said. “They cared about profit, not people.”
A New Owner, but an Old Footprint
The site is now owned by a medical‑glove manufacturer that has restarted limited operations. Only a fraction of former employees have been rehired while the rest of the massive complex remains idle.
Only time will tell what fate awaits the former Chillicothe Paper Plant property under the new ownership.