Toxins

 

The Ghost of Frank: How a Global Leather Titan Left a Toxic Legacy in the Greenbrier Valley

In the quiet, pastoral reaches of the Greenbrier Valley lies Frank, West Virginia—a village that today whispers of rural solitude but once roared as a monumental pillar of international industry. While West Virginia’s heritage is frequently defined by the extraction of coal and timber, Frank was the site of a sophisticated secondary industry that reached across oceans. For decades, the Howes Leather Company tannery stood here as an industrial powerhouse, eventually becoming the world’s largest producer of shoe sole leather. Beneath the surface of this small Appalachian community lies a complex narrative of global logistics, wartime innovation, and a persistent environmental shadow that modern science is only now beginning to reconcile.

A Global Supply Chain in the Heart of Appalachia

The establishment of the Howes Leather tannery in 1904 was not a local accident but a strategic maneuver in a grander industrial migration. The American tanning industry was originally centered in "The Swamp" of Manhattan and the Catskill Mountains of New York. As those northern hemlock forests were decimated by intensive logging, industrial tanners moved south toward the virgin stands of hemlock, chestnut, and oak in the Allegheny Mountains.

The Frank facility became a central node in a staggering worldwide network. Far from being an isolated mountain craft, the operation was inextricably linked to the Greenbrier Division of the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Railroad. Raw hides were frequently imported from South America and the West Indies, arriving at sea ports in New York and Philadelphia before being railed deep into the mountains of West Virginia.

Between 1920 and 1950, the facility was recognized as the world's largest producer of shoe sole leather.

This connectivity transformed Pocahontas County into a critical player in the international manufacturing sector, shipping finished soles to footwear manufacturers across the nation and the globe.

The "Vietnam Boot" and the Double-Edged Sword of Innovation

The tannery’s technological peak arrived during the Vietnam War, driven by a specific military necessity. In the humid, tropical jungles of Southeast Asia, standard American military footwear was failing; leather soles succumbed rapidly to mold and fungal decay in the extreme moisture. In response, the Frank facility developed a specialized "chrome re-tanning" process. This technique utilized chromium salts to create leather that was inherently mold-resistant, effectively saving the feet of American soldiers.

However, this peak of industrial utility introduced a hazardous chemical legacy. The shift from traditional vegetable tanning to mineral tanning utilized trivalent chromium (Cr^{III}). While essential for the war effort, the operation lacked a modern "closed-loop system." Over decades, chromium-rich sludges and leakage from tanning vats permeated the soil. This innovation ensured the durability of military gear but left behind a landscape saturated with chemical remnants that would persist long after the demand for leather soles was replaced by synthetics.

Industrial Hunger: Accelerating the Death of the American Chestnut

Before the shift to mineral salts, the tannery’s primary era was defined by "vegetable tanning." This process relied on the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from tree bark, creating a symbiotic but destructive relationship with local sawmills. The tannery essentially converted the "waste" bark of chestnut, oak, and hemlock into a valuable "industrial reagent."

This industrial efficiency masked a profound ecological cost. The demand for tannins was so intensive that it incentivized the removal of hemlock and chestnut trees at a rate that far outpaced natural regeneration. Even as the deadly chestnut blight began to decimate the American chestnut population across the region, the tanning industry continued to process the bark of dying trees. This effectively accelerated the disappearance of the species from the regional canopy, fundamentally altering the ecology of the Greenbrier Valley to satisfy the global hunger for leather.

The Invisible Threat of Hexavalent Chromium (Cr^{VI})

The most significant contemporary concern for environmental strategists at the Frank site is the presence of hexavalent chromium (Cr^{VI}). While the tannery primarily utilized the relatively stable trivalent chromium (Cr^{III}), specific soil conditions in Frank—specifically the presence of manganese oxides and shifts in pH—can catalyze a redox reaction. This transforms the stable Cr^{III} into the highly toxic, carcinogenic, and mobile Cr^{VI}.

Unlike its predecessor, hexavalent chromium moves easily through groundwater, posing a persistent risk to the Greenbrier River and the alluvial aquifer. Technical assessments have identified total chromium concentrations at the site reaching 0.082 mg/L. Beyond chromium, the site’s soil and water contain a "hidden" cocktail of contaminants:

• 1,1,1-Trichloroethane: Found at concentrations of 0.012 mg/L, this industrial degreaser acts as a central nervous system depressant.
• 1,1-Dichloroethylene: A solvent used in hide preparation known to cause liver and kidney damage.
• PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls): Released from buried or abandoned electrical transformers. These are probable carcinogens and developmental toxins that bioaccumulate in the food chain.

Locking Toxins in the Ground: The Science of Redemptive Engineering

Today, the site is transitioning from a "brownfield" liability to the future East Fork Industrial Park. This transformation relies on a sophisticated remediation strategy known as "in-situ chemical reduction" (ISCR). By injecting reducing agents such as zero-valent iron (Fe^0) or sodium metabisulfite (Na_2S_2O_5) into the contaminated groundwater, engineers can chemically force toxic Cr^{VI} to revert to the stable, insoluble Cr^{III}. This effectively "locks" the contaminant into the soil, preventing migration into the river system.

This reclamation effort was energized in 2023 when the EPA awarded the Pocahontas County Commission a $497,697 Brownfields grant. The project is proceeding under the West Virginia Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP), utilizing a risk-based approach overseen by a Licensed Remediation Specialist (LRS). Strategic support from the Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center (NBAC) at WVU has been vital; the NBAC has helped secure over $50 million in EPA funding for similar projects statewide, leveraging more than $1 billion in total investment.

Conclusion: From Industrial Shadow to Sustainable Future

The history of the Howes Leather tannery is a narrative of extremes: a rural facility that achieved global dominance, a site of military innovation that left a toxic trail, and an ecological consumer that is now a theater for scientific restoration. As the old administrative buildings are demolished to make way for the East Fork Industrial Park, Frank stands as a model for industrial reconciliation.

The journey of this site raises a vital question for industrial communities throughout Appalachia: How can rural regions reconcile a proud history of global production with the environmental stewardship required for a sustainable future? The answer lies in the ground—in the transition from a legacy of "death in the soil" to a future of engineered redemption.