Diamond Alkali facts for kids

Diamond Alkali Company was an American chemical company. It started in 1910 in West Virginia. Businessmen from Pittsburgh founded it. The company made chemicals for many years. It had a big factory in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. Later, its main office moved to Cleveland.

Diamond Alkali Company: A Look Back

How It Started

Diamond Alkali Company began in 1910. It was founded by a group of business people. They were involved in the glass industry. The company quickly built a large chemical factory. This factory was in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. It operated for over 60 years. In 1947, the company's main office moved. It went from Pittsburgh to Cleveland. The company also had a factory in Redwood City, California. This factory made special resins.

Mergers and Changes

In 1967, Diamond Alkali joined with another company. It merged with Shamrock Oil and Gas. Together, they formed the Diamond Shamrock Corporation. Later, Diamond Shamrock merged again. It joined with Ultramar Corporation. The new company was called Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation. Finally, in 2001, Valero Energy Corporation bought this combined company.

Cleaning Up the Environment

Diamond Alkali was involved in a big environmental issue. Its factory in Newark, New Jersey, caused pollution. This area is now a special cleanup site. It is called a Superfund site.

What is a Superfund Site?

A Superfund site is a place that has been badly polluted. The United States government marks these sites. They need a lot of cleanup work. The goal is to make them safe again.

The Passaic River Cleanup

Between 1951 and 1969, the Newark factory made a chemical. It was a herbicide called Agent Orange. This chemical was used in wars. The factory had problems with its production. It often made chemicals that were not very pure. These chemicals had extra harmful by-products. The company also sometimes released polluted chemicals. They dumped "bad" batches into the Passaic River.

Because of this, the factory property and parts of the Passaic River became a Superfund site in 1984. In 1986, Diamond Shamrock Corporation agreed to help. They paid for a large cover. This cover helped protect about 3 acres (12,000 m²) of the polluted area.

Cleanup work at the Diamond Alkali site started in 2000. Scientists are still studying the area. They are also dredging the river. Dredging means removing polluted mud from the river bottom. Other cleanup activities are still happening. As of 2020, the site is not yet ready for new uses.