Editing Hopewell, Virginia (section)

===Toxic waste dumping ground===
[[Image:Hopewell29.jpg|thumb|right|Smokestacks rise from Hopewell's skyline, seen from Chesterfield County]]

Hopewell is located at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers.<ref name=Gorman>Sean Gorman, [https://www.richmond.com/news/local/central-virginia/hopewell-opens-new-riverwalk-path-to-take-advantage-of-shoreline-views-waterway-access/article_1ba1292a-969d-5b6b-a568-822f50d81229.html Hopewell opens new Riverwalk path to take advantage of shoreline views, waterway access], ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (May 3, 2019).</ref> The James River has suffered from serious [[water pollution]] problems attributable to chemical dumping; [[Kepone]] insecticide (manufactured in Hopewell from 1966&ndash;1975) was dumped in the river by the pesticide's manufacturer [[Allied Signal]] and subcontractor LifeSciences Product Company.<ref name=Gorman/> The LifeSciences facility in Hopewell was the world's only manufacturer of Kepone, producing up to 6,000 pounds daily.<ref name=foster05>Richard Foster, [https://richmondmagazine.com/news/kepone-disaster-pesticide/ Kepone: The 'Flour' Factory], ''Richmond Magazine'' (July 8, 2005).</ref> Although closely related to the toxic pesticide [[DDT]], which was banned in the U.S. in 1972 because of the dangers it presents to humans and wildlife, Kepone was not federally regulated until after the Hopewell disaster, in which 29 factory workers were hospitalized with various ailments.<ref name=foster05/> In 1975, the state health department shut down the facility, and fishing in the James River from Richmond to the [[Chesapeake Bay]] was banned due to contamination concerns.<ref name=foster05/>

Kepone is cited amongst a handful of other noxious substances as the driver for [[Gerald Ford]]'s half-hearted approval of the [[Toxic Substances Control Act]], which "remains one of the most controversial regulatory bills ever passed".<ref name="hanson07">{{cite journal |last1=Hanson |first1=David J. |title=Those Were The Days |journal=Chemical & Engineering News |date=15 January 2007 |volume=85 |issue=3 |url=https://cen.acs.org/articles/85/i3/Those-Days.html |publisher=American Chemical Society|doi=10.1021/cen-v085n003.p044 }}</ref> Since the discovery of the Kepone disaster in 1975, the water quality has improved, and the fishing ban was lifted after 13 years.<ref name=Gorman/> In 2019, after years of planning, the city opened a "Riverwalk" boardwalk, seeking to use scenic views and water access as part of overall economic redevelopment efforts.<ref name=Gorman/> [[Bass (fish)|Bass]] and [[catfish]] are now routinely fished at a Hopewell marina.<ref name=Gorman/>

Hopewell is the location of several large chemical plants owned by the [[Honeywell]] Corporation, [[Ashland Inc.|Ashland]], [[Evonik Industries]], as well as a [[Green Plains Inc.]] ethanol plant and paper mill owned by [[WestRock]].