Fike Chemical
Fike Chemical is a former heavy chemical company and notorious superfund site in Nitro, West Virginia. Founded by Elmer Fike in 1971 in the buildings of a World War One government nitrocellulose plant, the 11-acre factory specialized in taking on jobs that larger chemical companies would ignore. To make this profitable, the company did no waste remediation, dumping hazardous chemicals into unmarked 55-gallon drums and open-pit lagoons on the site, next to the Kanawha River. The site was subject to continual problems. In one infamous example, the company had agreed to dispose of the sodium coolant from the closed Fermi 1 nuclear reactor, which they did by dumping it in a WWI-era bunker. Rain began to leak in, causing the sodium to explode and requiring the town to shelter in their homes while the fire was put out over a 12 hour period. This was only one of several newsworthy incidents which eventually attracted the attention of 60 Minutes where Lesley Stahl introduced the segment stating "Now we take you to the messiest place we've ever been". The 60 Minutes segment attracted the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They admitted the site "fell through the cracks". By 1982