Velsicol pollution is not a new concern to South Chattanooga residents. And the concerns haven’t been just about ground and water pollution.
Piney Woods is a neighborhood in South Chattanooga on rolling hills with narrow, bumpy streets, neat houses, climbing rose bushes, lots of idled and demolished smokestacks and what has been called the most polluted creek in the state.
In the 1970s, a group of Piney Woods residents filed a class-action suit against Velsicol over the plant’s production of an herbicide named Banvel and other chemicals the plant emitted into the air.
According to the lawsuit’s complaint, the fumes stunted plant growth in the area – completely killing neighborhood trees and gardens. The complaint also said the fumes caused concern for residents’ health. Residents were particularly concerned with community respiratory problems, they said.
The case remained in the courts for almost 10 years.