Why are German chemical plants built near big cities?


Posted August 19, 2021 by tinayu001

A fatal explosion at a chemical plant near Cologne has raised concerns about the park’s proximity to one of Germany’s largest cities. In this country, chemical plants near major cities are a common sight.

 
A fatal explosion at a chemical plant near Cologne has raised concerns about the park’s proximity to one of Germany’s largest cities. In this country, chemical plants near major cities are a common sight.

An explosion at a chemical plant in Leverkusen killed at least two people and injured many others. Leverkusen is about a 30-minute drive from the western German city of Cologne. Experts said the explosion may have released toxic compounds into the surrounding area.

This tragedy made many people wonder what a large chemical facility was doing so close to one of Germany's largest cities. In fact, other major German cities such as Mannheim and Leipzig also have large chemical companies nearby.

Rhineland is a region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which includes the chemical park in Leverkusen, and is one of the largest chemical industrial centers in Europe. There are more than 260 chemical companies in the area with more than 70,000 employees. These companies are usually clustered in so-called chemical parks. https://www.echemi.com/

From Wesseling in the south to Dormagen in the north, multinational companies such as Bayer, ExxonMobil Chemical, Ineos, Covestro, Lyondellbasell and LANXESS are located within a few kilometers of Cologne, a city with a population of more than 1 million.

To understand how a big city and a chemical park exist in such close proximity, we must review the long history of the Rhineland as an industrial power.


Carl Livekus and the Paint Factory

The Rhine played a decisive role. The use of this river as a commercial transportation route ensured that many chemical companies established bases in the area at the end of the 19th century.

The city of Leverkusen even owes its name to its industry: In 1860, the chemist Carl Leverkus moved his factory from Wermelskirchen to the nearby Rhine. The small town of Wiesdorf. Less than 20 years later, the predecessor of the international chemical group Bayer-Fabien Fabriken. Friedr. Bayer also moved from Elberfeld to Wiesdorf because Elberfeld was too small to meet the company's needs. Thanks to the Leverkus factory, all important facilities for production are already available on both sides of the Rhine.

In order to ensure a short commute for workers, a residential area was built near the factory. Soon, the surrounding villages developed into towns and eventually became Leverkusen today. This is why the residential areas of the city are still located near the factories. At the same time, the development of industry has created more job opportunities, leading to a large influx of people into cities like Cologne.

During the post-war economic miracle, companies located in the Rhineland grew substantially. At the turn of the century, several chemical parks emerged from the reorganization of previous independent chemical plants and operations. Their idea is to combine the production activities of different companies in one location, promote cooperation and create the necessary infrastructure-and be successful.
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Last Updated August 19, 2021