DEAR EDITOR:

As the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Social and Urban research reported, Beaver County’s GDP grew 63 percent in 2018 — driven primarily by the construction of the new cracker plant, which is employing upwards of 6.000 men and women from 15 unions.

Numbers like that should serve as a nudge to naysayers to rethink their opposition to a similar facility proposed in Ohio.

The Belmont County cracker, like the one in Beaver County, Pa., has the potential to significantly increase local job opportunities for decades, as manufacturers of everything from car parts and medical devices to children’s toys and electronics take advantage of the plant’s soon-to-be-built supply chain by expanding or relocating to our area.

This new supply chain will also spark the construction of much-needed infrastructure projects and revenue to serve the communities around it. That means better roads, better funding for schools and more family-sustaining jobs.

What’s more, the plant’s finished products, made from ethane-based building blocks, are essential to making our lives safer and our environment greener. Some of these products include life-saving medical equipment, car seats, helmets and the plastics used to make electric cars lighter and able to go farther on a single charge.

Without cracker plants to make the building blocks of products safely and economically, we lose out on their benefits — from bringing back jobs from China to America that will support our communities to advancing the next generation of American manufacturing.

CHRIS VENTURA

Columbus