Later on in 1945, Union Carbide built a plant in the complex to manufacture butadiene from grain alcohol that was piped to Rubbertown from distilleries in Louisville.
Rubbertown is host to 11 large chemical plants, the largest source of industrial emissions in the Jefferson County area.
As a result of increasing pollution the Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT) group was established in April 2003 as a campaign of the Justice Resource Center.
REACT is fighting for: For many years, residents of western Louisville and nearby areas in Jefferson County had complained of health problems they attributed to air pollutant emissions from the many industrial facilities in Rubbertown.
Citizen organizations such as ReACT (Rubbertown Emergency Action) have formed to advocate for more assessment and control of air emissions.
The purpose of the study was to determine if residents of the area were being exposed to airborne concentrations of toxic air pollutants that may pose unacceptable risks to human health.
The West Louisville Air Toxics Study Risk Management Plan, Part 1: Process and Framework was issued in April 2003.
Following the release of the report, the APCD began the process of developing a comprehensive regulatory package to address Louisville's toxic air pollution.