Woodbine Chemical Plant, Georgia

Woodbine is a former chemical complex in a remote coastal lowland area of southern Georgia, past the gates at the end of Union Carbide Road. The site is famous for a large explosion that occurred in 1971 when the facility was making flares and explosives for the Vietnam War. A small fire quickly spread through an assembly and storage building, culminating in an explosion that broke windows more than ten miles away, and was heard as much as 50 miles away. 29 people were killed and more than 50 suffered major injuries. The plant, with 34 buildings, was built by Thiokol in 1964, to make solid rocket propellant motors. It evolved into chemical production, and was sold to Union Carbide in 1976. It produced agricultural chemicals and insecticides for the next 35 years, passing through several corporate owners, including Rhone-Poulanc and Aventis. Woodbine’s current owner, Bayer Crop Science, closed the plant in 2012, and the site is undergoing environmental assessment.