The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed an agreement to settle litigation filed by Concerned Citizens of St. John that alleges the agency failed to revise air pollution standards affecting a region of Louisiana dubbed “Cancer Alley.”
The proposed settlement, under which the EPA would take action on revising standards for certain industrial air pollutants by March 2024, was made public June 7 with the publication of proposed consent decrees in the Federal Register.
Concerned Citizens and Washington, D.C.-based EarthJustice filed the lawsuit in November 2021, raising concerns about the level of emissions produced by Denka Performance Elastomer, a neoprene manufacturer in LaPlace. The plant produces emissions containing substances such as chloroprene, a chemical used in the manufacturer of products such as gaskets, adhesives and hoses.
“Denka Performance Elastomer will review a copy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed settlement with EarthJustice,” Denka spokesman Jim Harris said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “... DPE will continue to work with the EPA to ensure the best available science is used in future rulemaking.”
The company and third-party analysis have provided the EPA with an updated model for dealing with chloroprene exposure, according to Harris. The research makes a distinction between cancer risks from the emissions and actual cancer incidence.
“The model’s findings are consistent with other scientific research on the chemical, including a decades-long international study of chloroprene facility workers and cancer incidence statistics published by the Louisiana Tumor Registry, which show there are no increased levels of health impacts in the area surrounding DPE’s facility,” he said.
Since it purchased the manufacturing site in LaPlace in 2015, Denka has invested more than $35 million in emissions-reduction efforts, leading to a cut in chloroprene emissions of more than 85%, Harris said.
Environmental groups had argued that the EPA had violated the federal Clean Air Act by failing to review air emission standards for chemicals produced by manufacturing sites like the one operated by Denka.
“While EPA has failed and continues to fail to act, community members suffer the consequences of exposure to toxic air pollution from polymers and resins facilities,” the original lawsuit states. “These facilities emit highly hazardous air pollutants, including carcinogens like chloroprene, ethylene oxide (and) formaldehyde. …”