ADDYSTON, Ohio — Owners of the INEOS ABS plant in Addyston have slowed down the closure process of the plastics plant on the Ohio River, as the Ohio EPA takes a closer look at “a known plume of groundwater contamination” that has threatened Addyston’s drinking water for years.
The agency awarded a forgivable loan of roughly $800,000 this week to establish a new water main connection between Addyston and the village of Cleves. It could be a first step toward closing Addyston’s water wells, which are located on the plant site.
“What we’re worried about is a plume underneath INEOS,” said Eric Winhusen, superintendent of Cleves Waterworks and operator of record for Addyston’s public water system. “They have two wells they’re pumping that keep the INEOS plume away from Addyston’s wells. And that’s what the EPA is concerned about. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen if they stop that pumping.”
Winhusen said he knows Addyston water is safe for now, because his quarterly tests show no evidence that INEOS contaminants are finding their way into Addyston wells. Ohio EPA confirmed that Addyston tests regularly for styrene, a key ingredient in INEOS products.
That’s the chemical that forced evacuations in Whitewater Township last September, when a rail car bound for INEOS began leaking on train tracks near Kilby Road. Styrene causes lung and eye irritation when inhaled and is suspected of causing cancer.
“All community public water systems are required to monitor for multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including styrene. Addyston monitors for VOCs quarterly. No styrene has been detected in the last five years,” said EPA spokeswoman Dina Pierce. “INEOS's consultant is exploring options to protect the village's water supply after the facility closes. Ohio EPA is in discussions with the village regarding future drinking water protection. The company plans to continue pumping groundwater in the interim since this has proven effective.”
As all of that takes place, the plant has delayed plans to shut down production.
Watch the video player below for our full investigation into the water at the plant:
Slowing the pace
When the plant’s closure was announced in October 2024, the company said its decommissioning process would begin by June of this year. But in May, company officials told employees and the village that production will continue through August 31 for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, or ABS, a plastic polymer used in car parts, home appliances and other products.
After that, the plant will continue to produce resins until October 2026.
“In essence, this option will slow the pace of the decontamination phase. It will start when production ceases and will extend through 2026 and possibly into early 2027,” wrote Brian Lucas, site director of the Addyston plant, in an update to employees. “It will use a smaller organization for a longer duration, while spreading out the work.”
The INEOS ABS plant had 144 employees as of May 15, down from about 180 when the closure was announced, according to a statement from the company.
“Staffing levels remain safe and consistent with ongoing operations,” said the company’s email to the WCPO 9 I-Team. “Our focus remains on maintaining safe production and ensuring a safe and orderly transition through decommissioning.”
The company didn’t answer the I-Team’s questions about the decommissioning process, including what steps will be taken to decontaminate the site.
'Safe right now'
Former Addyston Mayor Gary O’Connor is skeptical of the cleanup plans.
“I don’t trust INEOS. They’re the corporate chemical company,” O’Connor said. “I’m no Erin Brockovich but they’re making business decisions.”
O’Connor has long suspected contamination of Addyston’s water supply after seeing black slime in his faucets, cloudy water in his drinking glasses and his dog throwing up after drinking tap water. He isn’t sure if Addyston should switch to another water supplier, but he would like INEOS to be more transparent about the pollution its plant has caused.
“They should pay for an environmental study, that plant,” O’Connor said. “Independent environmental company. They come in and do that at their expense to see what we’re going to be left with, what we currently have and what we’re going to be left with.”
Addyston’s current Mayor thinks INEOS and EPA are addressing those issues.
“The water is safe right now. And it will continue to be,” Mear said. “Those wells that INEOS is running pull (from) the surface water of the aquifer. Our wells are 70 feet down.”
Mear said she will brief village council Monday on her conversations with Cleves and the EPA. She expects that will spark a longer-term discussion about whether to close Addyston’s wells.
Cleves draws its water from wells in Whitewater Township. Addyston also has an emergency water connection to Cincinnati Water Works. Mear declined to share her opinion on which direction the village should take.
“Whatever decision we make to move forward should be made in the best interest of the people,” Mear said. “If that means getting city water or Cleves water, that’s a decision that council’s going to have to make.”
How we got here
Ohio EPA has been trying for more than six years to get Addyston to find a new source of drinking water.
“Ohio EPA has mentioned numerous times that Addyston's wells are located downstream from and within a chemical manufacturing plant,” Inspector Mariano Haensel wrote in Addyston’s 2019 annual inspection. “Given the fact that the plant manufactures toxic chemicals, the number of chemical spills, groundwater contamination underneath its grounds and the minimal water treatment components in use, it is recommended that the village investigate another location for its well field.”
In 2022, Addyston’s water quality report to residents summarized an EPA study showing a “high susceptibility to contamination” in the aquifer that supplies Addyston’s water, in part because of “a relatively thin protective layer of clay overlaying the aquifer” and “significant potential contaminates” in the protection area.
In April, a report to EPA by INEOS consultant AECOM considered four options for protecting Addyston drinking water after the plant closes. Switching to Cincinnati water, constructing a new well field elsewhere, and upgrading Addyston’s treatment facility were rejected because they required “additional stakeholder outreach and feasibility analysis.” That left the continued use of production wells to keep contaminants away from Addyston’s water wells as the preferred option.
So, AECOM next considered what to do with the contaminated water from those production wells. Discharging to sewers was rejected because of “current limitations” at the Metropolitan Sewer District’s Muddy Creek treatment facility. Two options for improving wastewater treatment facilities at INEOS were rejected as “financially prohibitive.”
So, the company is now talking to EPA about “potential permitting approaches” for “direct discharge to the Ohio River.”
Whether that will be acceptable to the EPA is not yet clear. But the agency’s spokeswoman said the environmental rules for closing plants in Ohio are clear.
“INEOS is required to comply with the State Emergency Response Commission reporting regulations and follow the Cessation of Regulated Operations process to remove all hazardous substances and contaminated equipment from the property before it can officially close,” Pierce said.
