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Location DB > United States > Ohio > Akron > Ohio Edison Powerplant
 Name
Ohio Edison Powerplant
 Viewing Options
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 Database Info
created by Dages on 10/15/2005 10:40 PM
last modified by mikeandike on 10/19/2014 3:23 PM
 Viewability
Publically Viewable Publically Viewable
This location has been labeled as Demolished, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
 Overview
 Description
Small group of outlying buildings, generators, garages, etc. coal chutes, two massive smokestacks.
 Basic Information
Type: Building
Status: Demolished
Accessibility: Difficult
Recommendation: Couldn't tell you, We haven't made it in.
 Physical Information
Address

Akron, Ohio
United States
Owner: The State of Ohio
  • See a map of this location
  •  Hazards
  • asbestos
  • rust
  • unsafe flooring
  • flooding
  • water
  • air quality
  • Coal Dust, Arsenic, Cyanide, Chromium, Fiberglass, Barbed Wire fencing, Falling into the gorge from 50+feet
  •  Interesting Features
    Two smokestacks for the twin boilers used in the facility that must be 130'+ high, catwalks at the top of the building.
     Security Measures
  • fences
  • barbed wire
  • razor wire
  • part-time guard
  • locked gates
  • welded doors
  • wooden boarding
  • Four lane road. All doors are welded and padlocked from the inside, save the front door, which is chained, padlocked, and lit by a streetlight.
  •  Historical Dates
    Built: 1913
    Closed: 1991
     Required Equipment
  • flashlight
  • breathing mask
  • gloves
  • long pants / sleeves
  •  Recommended Equipment
    Binoculars, Camera, shoes with good traction
     History
    Completed in 1913 this was once a coal firing plant. Built on the Cuyahoga River, the river was dammed to provide cooling for the massive plant. The plant sits mothballed awaiting possible future use.
     Media Coverage
    Some see link between toxins at power plant and workers' deaths
    The Gorge Boys are dying.

    Cancer is killing the workers who spent decades toiling at the now-closed, coal-burning power plant in North Akron.

    McVan and Fultz were buddies, as were Witherspoon and Jackson. They all worked for more than two decades at the Ohio Edison Co.'s Gorge Power Plant on the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. They are on a growing list of former Gorge plant workers stricken with various forms of cancer.

    Growing also is a belief among some Gorge workers, their families and their friends that the cancers were caused by environmental hazards at the plant.

    By workers' accounts, there have been 25 cases of cancer among the more than 100 blue-collar men and women who at one time or another worked at the plant, which was mothballed on Oct. 31, 1991.

    The cancers among the Gorge workers are not the same type -- a fact that suggests there is no common cause. There are lung, colon, kidney, bladder and prostate cancers, along with multiple myeloma.

    There are also cases of breathing problems, including several workers with asbestosis, a scarring of the inside of the lungs by airborne asbestos fibers.

    Gorge workers openly admit to having been concerned about getting black lung disease because of the pulverized coal dust to which they were constantly exposed, and they reported breathing problems because of the asbestos in the plant.

    Producing electricity at the Gorge plant was a filthy, back-breaking job that paid well, according to interviews with about five dozen former plant workers.

    Asbestos was used throughout the plant as an insulator and fire retardant. Workers would routinely handle and move asbestos to make needed plant repairs.

    Toxic metals, including small amounts of mercury, arsenic, chromium, zinc, nickel, manganese, barium, copper, cobalt and thallium, could all be found in the coal, its dust and its ash. Very small amounts of dioxin is produced when coal is burned.

    Exposure to mercury, dioxin, arsenic and chromium pose the greatest cancer risks.
     Future Plans
    Mothballed. Awaiting future use.
     Stories


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     Photo Galleries
    Click to view gallery
    Outside the Fence
    Sat, Oct 15th, 2005
    posted by Dages
    8 pictures
     


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     Web Links

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    Edit this Location
     Moderator Rating
    The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.

    Category Rating
    Photography 7 / 10
    Coolness 8 / 10
    Content Quality 8 / 10
     Validation
    This location's validation is current. It was last validated by Mike Dijital on 10/23/2014 1:04 AM.

     Latest Changes
  • on Oct 23 14 at 1:04, Mike Dijital validated this location
  • on Oct 19 14 at 15:23, mikeandike changed the following: Status
  • on Sep 10 09 at 23:01, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Sep 9 09 at 14:08, splumer changed the following: Latitude, Longitude, Co-ordinate Accuracy
  • on Mar 16 08 at 23:54, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Mar 9 08 at 4:53, secretdestroyers changed the following: Interesting Features, Web Links
  • on Oct 16 05 at 0:03, Dages changed the following: Recommendation, Security Measures, Required Equipment
  • on Oct 15 05 at 23:57, Dages changed the following: Year Closed
  • on Oct 15 05 at 23:55, Dages changed the following: Hazards, Interesting Features
  • on Oct 15 05 at 23:09, Dages made this location available
  •  Forum Threads about this Location
    New Thread
     SubjectStarted ByRepliesViewsLast Post
    You must log in for this feature to work.Locationsplumer36932/27/2012 2:35 AM by Revolution
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