HOME

Air Force Plant 85 is located in central Ohio about six minutes from downtown Columbus. The plant served as an air craft manufacturing and testing site during World War II and continued to serve as a plant for the Air Force following the war. The plant was managed under numerous companies and owners during its nearly 53 years in operation. Moreover, over those 53 years in operation, a multitude of chemicals were handled improperly, thus leading to soil and groundwater contamination on the site and in nearby communities. In particular, after the creation of the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) by the Department of Defense, a multitude of sites were flagged as potentially harmful on the plant (Installation Restoration Program 22). As a result, the site became a superfund site, as classified by the EPA. After the plant stopped manufacturing aircraft in the 1990s, it was sold to a local investment group. Moreover, the proceeds from the sale was redirected by the Air Force to put towards cleanup efforts (Environmental Protection Agency 1).

Today, the site functions as the Columbus Air Center, and is owned by the Schottenstein Property Group (Environmental Protection Agency 1).