"With the natural gas fracking boom, plastics production is spreading in the Ohio River Valley. But at what cost to health and climate?"

"MONACA, Pennsylvania — Along the banks of the Ohio River here, thousands of workers are assembling the region's first plastics manufacturing plant. It's a conspicuous symbol of a petrochemical future looming across the Appalachian region.

More than 70 construction cranes tower over hundreds of acres where zinc was smelted for nearly a century. In a year or two, Shell Polymers, part of the global energy company Royal Dutch Shell, plans to turn what's called "wet gas" into plastic pellets that can be used to make a myriad of products, from bottles to car parts.

Two Asian companies could also announce any day that they plan to invest as much as $6 billion in a similar plant in Ohio. There's a third plastics plant proposed for West Virginia."

James Bruggers reports for InsideClimate News February 25, 2019. [2]