CHILLICOTHE — Groundwater beneath the former WearEver plant in Chillicothe still holds industrial solvents at levels far above federal drinking-water standards, according to environmental filings dated Oct. 10, more than 25 years after state regulators ordered cleanup work at the site.
Samples taken June 23 found vinyl chloride, trichloroethylene and related chemicals in on-site wells at many times their federal limits, and testing also found the chemicals beyond the property line in an off-site well. One on-site well recorded cis-1,2-dichloroethylene at about 33 times its federal standard.
The reports, prepared for Howmet Aerospace, say the direction the contamination moves depends in part on high-capacity wells at the neighboring former paper mill. When those wells pump, groundwater tends to flow east and northeast; if pumping slows or stops, the filings say it would likely move east-southeast, generally toward the Scioto River.
That matters because the former mill is changing hands and its future operations may not need the same volume of water that paper production once required, even though parties involved have said the wells will stay operational.
A plan to add monitoring wells has also stalled. Ohio EPA asked for expanded monitoring in July 2025, but the October progress report says access agreements sent to nearby property owners in October 2025 have not been returned signed, so the new wells have not been installed.
Howmet says it began enhanced quarterly monitoring in the third quarter of 2025 and will continue it. Results from 14 more samples collected Aug. 19 and 20 are expected in a separate report.
