The U.S. Justice Department has sued the chemical makers behind a facility in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” responsible for the highest cancer risk rates caused by air pollution in the United States. The major federal lawsuit seeks to curb the plant’s emissions substantially.
Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (DPE) makes synthetic rubber, emitting the carcinogen chloroprene and other chemicals in such high concentrations that it poses an unacceptable cancer risk, according to the federal complaint unveiled February 28. Children are particularly vulnerable. AP News says an elementary school sits half a mile from the plant.
The lawsuit also names a subsidiary of the U.S. chemicals giant DuPont, which constructed the facility as a neoprene plant and operated it for over half a century. DuPont sold the plant to Denka in 2015.
The plant has reduced its emissions over time, but the Justice Department, suing on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the plant still represents “an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare,″ including elevated cancer risks.
The Justice Department is now seeking a federal court order to compel Denka (DPE), the Japanese chemical giant operating the facility, to “immediately take all necessary measures” to curb emissions of the compound chloroprene, labeled by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen.
“The company has not moved far enough or fast enough to reduce emissions or ensure the safety of the surrounding community,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
According to The Guardian, the facility is the only site in the U.S. to emit the compound, which is a primary constituent of the synthetic rubber neoprene. EPA air monitoring around the facility has consistently shown readings well in excess of the recommended lifetime exposure limit of 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter.
Denka said the company “strongly disagrees” with the legal action and urged the EPA to re-evaluate its findings on chloroprene exposure. The company has been lobbying the federal government for years, claiming the compound’s peer-reviewed classification is based on outdated science.
“DPE is in compliance with its air permits and applicable law. EPA is taking an unprecedented step — deviating from its permitting and rulemaking authorities – to allege an ‘emergency’ based on outdated and erroneous science the agency released over 12 years ago,” Denka said in a statement.
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said every community, no matter its demographics, should be able to breathe clean air and drink clean water. “Our suit aims to stop Denka’s dangerous pollution,” she said in a statement.
The complaint is the latest move by the Biden administration that targets pollution in an 85-mile stretch from New Orleans to Baton Rouge officially known as the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, but more commonly called Cancer Alley. The region contains several hot spots where cancer risks are far above levels deemed acceptable by the EPA. The White House has prioritized environmental enforcement in communities overburdened by long-term pollution.