South Charleston Plant, West Virginia

Opened in 1925 by the Union Carbide Corporation, this plant was a successor to Carbide's Clendenin, WV plant, which opened in 1920 and was the company's first commercial ethylene plant. In 1927, Carbide purchased Blaine Island, then 80 acres of melon patches and beach recreation, to accommodate an expansion of the plant. Most of the plant is now owned by Dow Chemical, which merged with Union Carbide in 2001. More than 500 different chemicals and plastics are made here, including polyvinyl acetate (used for automotive moldings and chewing gum) and fluids.