Louisiana Chemical Maker Faces DOJ Lawsuit Alleging Cancer Risk in Minority Area

The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against a Louisiana chemical maker on Tuesday, with federal officials alleging that the company has caused cancer risk in a nearby minority area.

The company, identified as Denka Performance Elastomer LLC, manufactures synthetic rubber, emitting the carcinogen chloroprene in high concentrations that authorities argue are unacceptable risk of cancer to nearby communities. Particularly, children are vulnerable to the effects of the chemical as there is an elementary school only half a mile away.

Cancer Risk in Minority Community

While the plant has, over time, reduced its emissions, the Justice Department argued that it still presents "an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare." The department, which filed the lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), argued that these dangers include elevated cancer risks.

In a statement, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that Denka Performance Elastomer LLC has not yet moved far or fast enough to reduce emissions sufficiently or to ensure the safety of the people in the surrounding community, as per Fox News.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said that every community, regardless of its demographics, should be able to breathe clean air and drink clean water. She added that they were seeking to stop the chemical maker's dangerous pollution of the environment.

The Department of Justice's lawsuit demands that Denka eliminate dangerous chloroprene emissions. It is the latest move of President Joe Biden's administration to target pollution in an industrial corridor found near New Orleans that many call "Cancer Alley." Lately, the White House has prioritized environmental enforcement in communities facing heavy burdens resulting from long-term pollution.

The EPA said last year that it observed evidence of Black residents facing a higher risk of cancer from the chemical plant's waste. State officials ignored the problem, causing the pollution to remain high for an extended period.

Exposure to Harmful Chemicals

While the Japanese company did not immediately respond to requests for comments regarding the issue, a spokesperson in September said that advocates were describing a crisis that "simply does not exist," according to the Associated Press.

The company manufactures wetsuits, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces, and automotive belts and hoses. The chemical produced, chloroprene is a liquid raw material used to create the base material and is spread into the air from various places within the facility.

The lawsuit comes as air monitoring consistently shows that long-term chloroprene concentrations in Denka's immediate surroundings are up to 15 times those recommended for a 70-year exposure.

The EPA prepared a Toxics Release Inventory that showed minority groups made up 56% of the communities that were living near toxic sites, including refineries, landfills, and chemical plants. Adverse effects of such exposure include chronic health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension.

Activists in the nearby areas of the Denka plant have long argued that the facility was a danger to St. John the Baptist Parish residents. The Department of Justice, in support of this claim, said that the plant's chemicals exposed thousands of residents to lifetime cancer risks that are multiple times more than what could be considered acceptable, said The Hill.