[Return to Iconography List] Occidental, Niagara Falls, New York The Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) is a subdivision of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and is one of the world’s leading and largest chemical producers with forty-four manufacturing facilities worldwide. OxyChem was established in 1968, with the acquisition of Hooker Chemical and Plastics Corporation, and began producing a wide variety of chemical products. One division of OxyChem is located in Niagara Falls, New York and produces both organic and inorganic compounds such as chlorine, caustic soda, monochlorotoluene, benzoyl chloride, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, sodium hydroxide, and sodium hypochlorite. These chemicals are used in water treatment facilities, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and detergents. The production of some of these chemicals results in hazardous waste by-products. Over the years OxyChem has received multiple citations for illegal airborne emissions. In 2000, around one million pounds of air emissions were released by the company. In 2001, the corporation received twenty-two air citations. Chlorine is used in the production of some chemicals and then must be removed by going through a series of tanks, condensers, and vacuums. One particular process of removal, the “Chlorine Kill System,” removes the chlorine from the vented gas before release; any chlorine not removed, however, will then be released as an emission. Aside from air pollution, OxyChem has been cited numerous times by the Environmental Protection Agency for soil and water pollution. As a result of this OxyChem has implemented numerous corrective measures in many of its chemical production processes to reduce air, ground, and water pollution. One such change has reduced chlorine waste by 125 tons per year and has reduced chlorine air emissions by twenty-five percent. Selected Bibliography “About Occidental.” Occidental Chemical Corporation, 2001-05. Weblink. “Occidental Chemical Corporation – Buffalo Avenue.” Environmental Protection Agency, January 2000. Weblink. “2001 Annual Report on Health, Environment, and Safety,” Occidental Petroleum Corporation, 2002. Weblink. Occidental, Niagara Falls, New York Pictures in the Gallery