Swann Chemical Company Explained

The Swann Chemical Company was an American chemical company started by Theodore Swann, described by one historian as "a flamboyant Birmingham mogul and New South industrialist." Swann Chemical first operated a chemical manufacturing plant in Anniston, Alabama where PCBs were first made on an industrial scale after development of a new process under leadership of Theodore Swann.^[1] The plant was later bought by Monsanto Industrial Chemicals Co. in 1935.^{[2] [3] [4]} The plant, just west of Anniston, had around 1,000 employees.^[5]

One historian wrote that, "In many ways, the spirit of Swann Chemical became the corporate culture of Monsanto."^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: Dracos. Ted. Biocidal: Confronting the Poisonous Legacy of PCBs. November 2010. Beacon Press.
2. Web site: Poisoned By PCBs: "A Lack of Control". Chemical Industry Archives. 30 November 2015.
3. Head. Thomas R. III. PCBs—The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Miracle. Natural Resources & Environment. Spring 2005. 18. 30 November 2015.
4. Web site: Montague. Peter. How We Got Here -- Part 1: The History of Chlorinated Diphenyl (PCB's). HudsonWatch.net.
5. Book: Spears. Ellen Griffith. Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution, and Justice in an All-American Town. April 2014. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 978-1-4696-1171-6. 60.