US justice department sues two companies over pollution in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’
GuardianDec 23, 2022
DOJ Sues Louisiana Chemical Maker Over 'Cancer Alley' Risk
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Image copyright: AFP/Getty Images [via Wall Street Journal]
The Facts
The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday filed suit on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against chemical manufacturing company Denka Performance Elastomer LLC. The lawsuit is over the company’s alleged failure to reduce the community’s exposure to the carcinogenic chloroprene from its synthetic rubber plant in LaPlace, Louisiana.
In 2015, Denka, a Japanese company, purchased the plant from DuPont. The plant is located in Louisiana’s industrial corridor that's often referred to as “Cancer Alley” — an area in which Black residents have been disproportionately exposed in the areas along the Mississippi River.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The Biden administration has again gone to bat for a vulnerable community of color that has too often been neglected and subjected to unsafe living conditions. Of course, the only site in the US that emits this compound is located in a predominately Black area. The president is taking a stand against environmental racism.
Republican narrative
Not everything has to be about identity politics. If the EPA has a case, it’s not because the majority of people affected are Black, but because they’re Americans. Hopefully, the administration is looking out for the health and well-being of everyone in the US, regardless of race.
