al Corporation along with the Hyman Company which then became its Julius Hyman Division (4:6). Manufacturing of aldrin continued at the plant in Denver up until 1974 (4:6). In addition, production began at Shell's plant in Pernis, The Netherlands in 1954 (4:6 7).
Manufacturing of aldrin was restricted to the Denver and Pernis plants; although formulation of the chemical took place in formulation plants located in many parts of the world (4:7). At Shell's facility in Pernis, the insecticides plant was situated approximately in the middle of a refinery and chemical complex (4:47). Due to the toxic nature of the substances handled there, the insecticides plant was somewhat segregated from the rest of the operation: for example, it had its own laundry, lunch room, water purification unit, etc. (4:48).
Within the insecticides plant were several different manufacturing centers, each consisting of one or more production units, and each with a separate team of personnel (4:48). The three centers involved in the manufacture of aldrin consisted of the intermediate plant, the aldrin and dieldrin plant (since aldrin and dieldrin share many characteristics in common, the two chemicals are often referred to together) and the formulation plant (4:4, 48).
In the intermediate plant, raw materials were manufactured into intermediate products which, in turn, were further converted to aldrin (4:48). At the intermediate plant's acetylene unit (U 100), for example, acetylene gas was produced (4:48):
CaC(2) + 2H(2)O Ca(OH)(2) + C(2)H(2)
calcium carbide acetylene
Additionally, at the plant's dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) unit (U 200) cyclopentadiene (CPD) was produced (4:49). The main chemical reaction in U 200 was:
2
DCPD CPD
This CPD was used to produce bicycloheptadiene (BCH) in...