Nitro

City in Putnam and Kanawha counties, southwestern West Virginia; population (1990) 6,900. Nitro stands on the Kanawha River, 19 km/12 mi west-northwest of Charleston.

The main industries in Nitro are chemical, rayon, and pencil manufacture. The city grew up virtually overnight in 1918 around a huge government explosives factory. This facility, at the time the largest in the world, was rushed into operation for World War I. However, the war ended, and the plant closed the following year.