Rubbertown Company to Stop Using Hazardous Chemical

A Louisville chemical company plans to end its use of a hazardous chemical at its Rubbertown plant. The substance American Synthetic Rubber plans to stop using—toluene—is the same one that’s leakedtwice in thepast few weeks.Toluene is a hazardous chemical that’s used in manufacturing rubber. Both times the releases were minor—they were a level one and two hazmat situation, respectively, and both times it was deemed the chemical didn’t pose any danger to the surrounding neighborhood.The company applied for a permit from the Air Pollution Control District to start phase one of a construction project to change its infrastructure. The permit doesn’t specify what will replace toluene, except that it will be a non-hazardous chemical. A man who answered the phone at American Synthetic Rubber’s Camp Ground Road plant confirmed that the company will stop using toluene but wouldn’t elaborate.The public can comment on the permit until the end of the month.