NEW YORK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- For decades, a rubber plant near an elementary school in the U.S. state of Louisiana has been spewing a carcinogenic chemical into the air, as residents wonder why it's still allowed to remain in operation, reported NBC News on Thursday.

The Environmental Protection Agency first warned of the dangers of the plant seven years ago. Yet, it has been allowed to continue to operate even though it sits about 450 feet from the Fifth Ward Elementary School, with some residents dying of cancer, according to the report.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department sued the owner of the plant, Denka Performance Elastomer LLC, and demanded that it reduce emissions of the carcinogenic chemical, chloroprene. But the suit is seen by some residents and even a former agency official as too little, too late, said the report.

The story of the plant is also a story of an 85-mile corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge now known as Cancer Alley, according to the report.

"This town, like many others in this industrial corridor, was once home to slave plantations before scores of petrochemical companies moved in, polluting the air that fills the lungs of the mostly-Black residents," it said.

The plant was built by the DuPont company in the late 1960s. It manufactures neoprene -- a synthetic rubber that can be found in products such as wetsuits, orthopedic braces and automotive belts, it added. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)