In 1975 workers at Life Science Products, a small makeshift pesticide factory in Hopewell, Virginia, became ill after exposure to Kepone, the brand name for the pesticide chlordecone. They made the poison under contract for a much larger Hopewell company, Allied Chemical. Life Science workers had been breathing in the dust for more than a year. Ingestion of the chemical made their bodies seize and shake. News of ill workers eventually led to the discovery of widespread environmental contamination of the nearby James River and the landscape of the small, working-class city. Not only had Life Science dumped the chemical, but so had Allied when the company manufactured it in the 1960s and early 1970s. The resulting toxic impact was not only on the city of Hopewell but also on the faraway fields where Kepone was used as an insecticide. Aspects of this environmental tragedy are all too common: corporate avarice, ignorance, and regulatory failure combined with race and geography to determine toxicity and shape the response. But the Kepone story also contains some surprising medical, legal, and political moments amid the disaster. With Poison Powder, Gregory S. Wilson explores the conditions that put the Kepone factory and the workers there in the first place and the effects of the poison on the people and natural world long after 1975. Although the manufacture and use of Kepone is now banned by the Environmental Protection Agency, organochlorines have long half-lives, and these toxic compounds and their residues still remain in the environment.

Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State explores the breadth of Ohio s past, tracing the course of history from its earliest geological periods to the present day in an accessible, single-volume format. * Features the most up-to-date research on Ohio, drawing on material in the disciplines of history, archaeology, and political science * Includes thematic chapters focusing on major social, economic, and political trends * Amply illustrated with maps, drawings, and photographs Receipient of the Ohio Geneological Society's Henry Howe Award in 2014

The new edition of the most up-to-date, interdisciplinary history of Ohio currently available Now in its second edition, Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State surveys the long and rich history of Ohio from its earliest geological periods to the present day. Designed for undergraduate students and general readers alike, this accessible volume describes the pivotal events in Ohio’s history while discussing the major social, economic, and political trends that have shaped the state over time. Concise chapters cover Ohio prehistory and the First Ohioans, European contact, the formation of the Northwest Territory, early statehood and national politics, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the two World Wars, the 1950s and 1960s, and more. Incorporating the latest scholarship from history, archaeology, and political science, the second edition moves the story of Ohio into the second decade of the twenty-first century. Revised chapters contain new data and updated coverage of early Ohio society, major economic developments, early statehood, Ohio and national politics, and Ohio from the 1970s through 2020. Explores the breadth of Ohio’s past using a clear and engaging narrative style Includes thematic chapters focusing on major social, economic, and political trends Discusses Ohio’s influence on national nineteenth-century politics Covers the geological and topographical history of Ohio Examines Ohio’s transformation into an industrial state from 1865–1920 Contains numerous high-quality maps, drawings, and photographs Written by two authors with decades of combined academic experience in teaching Ohio history, Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State, Second Edition remains an essential resource for college-level students enrolled in courses on Ohio History, professionals working in historical societies, museums, and other institutions that focus on the state’s history, and general readers looking for a highly readable study of Ohio’s past.

In 1975 workers at Life Science Products, a small makeshift pesticide factory in Hopewell, Virginia, became ill after exposure to Kepone, the brand name for the pesticide chlordecone. They made the poison under contract for a much larger Hopewell company, Allied Chemical. Life Science workers had been breathing in the dust for more than a year. Ingestion of the chemical made their bodies seize and shake. News of ill workers eventually led to the discovery of widespread environmental contamination of the nearby James River and the landscape of the small, working-class city. Not only had Life Science dumped the chemical, but so had Allied when the company manufactured it in the 1960s and early 1970s. The resulting toxic impact was not only on the city of Hopewell but also on the faraway fields where Kepone was used as an insecticide. Aspects of this environmental tragedy are all too common: corporate avarice, ignorance, and regulatory failure combined with race and geography to determine toxicity and shape the response. But the Kepone story also contains some surprising medical, legal, and political moments amid the disaster. With Poison Powder, Gregory S. Wilson explores the conditions that put the Kepone factory and the workers there in the first place and the effects of the poison on the people and natural world long after 1975. Although the manufacture and use of Kepone is now banned by the Environmental Protection Agency, organochlorines have long half-lives, and these toxic compounds and their residues still remain in the environment.