Louisiana plant at the center of an environmental justice fight halts operations

NEW ORLEANS — A petrochemical plant in Louisiana accused of increasing cancer risks for a majority Black community indefinitely suspended operations largely due to the high cost of reducing toxic pollution.

Japanese firm Denka announced Tuesday that its synthetic rubber facility hemorrhaged more than $109 million in the past year. The company cited weakening demand, staffing challenges and rising costs as reasons why ''improving profitability in the near term would be difficult.''

Denka also attributed much of its financial woes to what it has described as ''unfair and targeted'' pollution control measures.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency sought to rein in dangerous chemical emissions from hundreds of facilities including Denka's. The Biden administration's environmental justice campaign spotlighted Denka's plant, located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans in St. John the Baptist Parish.

Under the Trump administration, the EPA withdrew a federal lawsuit against Denka alleging it exposed a predominantly Black population to unacceptable cancer risk — the highest nationwide — from the facility's emissions of chloroprene. Last year, officials shut down a nearby elementary school due to concerns about emissions exposure.

''I am elated that we are waking up every day now with no chloroprene in our air,'' said Tish Taylor, a local environmental activist. She added that she was under no illusion that the company was concerned about its impact on her community's health: ''The petrochemical industry around us doesn't care about human beings. They care about their bottom line.''

The cost to reduce pollution

Denka produces Neoprene, a synthetic rubber used in wetsuits, laptop sleeves and other common products.

In suspending operations, Denka cited the ''significant cost'' of ''pollution control equipment to reduce chloroprene emissions,'' which the company said it ''did not anticipate'' when it purchased the facility from DuPont in 2015. The company also cited ''a shortage of qualified staff necessary to operate new pollution control equipment and implement other emission reduction measures.''

In court filings last year, Denka said it had spent more than $35 million on equipment to reduce emissions by 85% since 2017. But harmful emissions consistently remained higher than federal guidelines.

Denka said it remains ''deeply grateful'' to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who supported the company last year as it fought an EPA rule mandating the facility swiftly reduce chloroprene emissions. While the Trump administration has pledged to rewrite this policy, the company noted the outcome remains uncertain.

Denka said it is working with Landry's administration to consider ''all options,'' including ''a potential sale of the business or its assets.'' But no decision had been made regarding a ''permanent closure'' of the facility or ''workforce reductions.''

Landry did not respond to a request for comment.

A market ‘slowdown'

Denka said it ''faces a sustained slowdown in the global market demand for Neoprene, along with increases in energy prices, raw materials, and repair work that have been exacerbated by inflation.''

The company's statement noted ''rising energy costs,'' ''weakening global economic environment for chloroprene'' and ''supply chain disruptions" as other factors.

The Denka facility needed large amounts of chlorine to produce chloroprene, said George Eisenhauer, an analyst with commodities consulting company Argus Media. It costs more than twice as much to purchase and import chlorine into the U.S. as it does in other leading chloroprene production sites like Europe, Japan and China, he said.

The costs rose over the past few years after a major U.S. chlorine producer shut down, Eisenhauer added.

Trump's tariff policies have not significantly affected the price because chlorine is typically imported into the U.S. through Mexico or Canada.

Local activists remain wary

Denka's facility is in the 85-mile (137-kilometer) stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge officially called the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and commonly referred to by environmental groups as ''Cancer Alley.''

Robert Taylor, 84, and other environmental activists warily celebrated Denka's announcement. Taylor, who lives near the facility, pushed for stronger environmental regulations, only to watch the Trump administration roll them back.

''They have given these guys all the protection they need from advocacy groups like mine,'' he said, referring to the Trump administration. ''So that's why I am a bit puzzled by the action they (Denka) are taking now.''

He wondered whether the company would eventually resume operations or sell the plant to a company that could restart production.

''I think the community needs to be on guard and be prepared to continue our advocacy for our clean air and safe environment.''

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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.