Olin Corporation
Olin Corp. (NYSE:OLN) owns and operates two mercury-based chlorine factories: one in Charleston, Tennessee and another in Augusta, Georgia.
These factories are two of the four last remaining chlor-alkali factories in the country using 19th Century, mercury-based technology. Not only does this technology require tons of mercury to be used annually, it is extremely energy-intensive and costs millions of dollars to maintain.
Olin Tennessee
Olin Corp.’s Tennessee facility is the largest mercury-based factory left in the United States. Built in 1962, Olin Corp.’s factory has consistently been the largest mercury emitter in the entire state of Tennessee. The factory discharges mercury directly to the Hiwassee River and is likely the primary cause of the fish consumption advisory on that portion of the river.
Olin Georgia
Built in 1965, Olin Corp.’s Georgia facility is the youngest of the last four mercury-cell chlor-alkali factories in the country. Nevertheless, this factory has consistently been a major source of mercury pollution in Georgia. The Olin Corp. factory is an unnecessary contributing source of mercury to the Savannah River.
More than 100 factories around the world have switched from mercury-cell technology to mercury-free technology in the chlor-alkali industry. In order to modernize its Georgia and Tennessee factories, Oceana estimates it would cost about $90 million and $117 million, respectively.
If these factories were to modernize to mercury-free technology, it could slash energy consumption by up to 37 percent while increasing operating capacity by up to 80 percent. For Olin Corp., mercury-free technology could save about $57 million over five years in energy savings alone from these two factories.
