SUMMARY Kepone, also known as chlordecone, is a toxic, nonbiodegradable insecticide that a chemical plant in Hopewell, Virginia dumped into the James River from 1966 until 1975. The chemical’s negative effect on the environment was documented and eventually publicized, leading authorities to shut down the Allied Chemical Corporation plant that produced Kepone and to order fishing bans and advisories. The environmental and medical scandal was one of the first of its kind to play out nationally, and while it eventually led to the destruction of the Virginia fishing industry, it also led to improved environmental awareness. Kepone Environmental HazardKepone is the proprietary name for decachloroocta-hydro-1,3,4,-metheno-2H-cyclobuta[cd]-pentalene-2-one, a synthetic chlorinated insecticide. The drug was patented in the 1950s by Allied Chemical and introduced in 1958 as a virtually invincible compound to combat leaf-eating insects, ants, roaches, and fly larvae. Between 1966 and 1975, Allied Chemical, with contractor Life Sciences Products, produced Kepone at a small plant in Hopewell, Virginia, along the James River. At its highest output level, the factory produced 3,000 to 6,000 pounds of Kepone per day by operating day and night. The wastes were dumped directly into the James River. Local, state, and federal authorities overlooked safety regulations or made exceptions, in large part because chemical production was Hopewell’s biggest industry.