Longview Aluminum Plant Site, Washington

This plant opened at the start of World War II, and like the other aluminum plants in Washington, furnished aluminum to Boeing and the rest of the aircraft industry. At one time it employed over 900 people. Alumina, the material used to make aluminum, arrived by ship from Australia, and was off-loaded at the company's dock next to the plant on the Columbia River near Longview. Built and operated by the Reynolds Aluminum Corporation, which was later acquired by major rival Alcoa. In 2003, its owner, Longview Aluminum, filed for bankruptcy, and closed the plant. Remediation of the contaminated site and dismantlement of the smelter began in 2005, and continued until 2011. Some of the plant remains on site, as part of a bulk materials handling site, and as a shipping and receiving hub for raw materials used by Alcoa's Wenatchee Works smelter, located in Malaga, WA.