UPDATE (8/24/24): Unfortunately, this decision was overturned by a federal judge. Read more: EPA cannot enforce tougher pollution rules in Louisiana's poor and minority communities, judge rules (NOLA.com)
We were so thrilled to hear about the new protections recently passed by the EPA, thanks to the work of RISE St. James and other community based organizations.
Here is some additional news coverage:
In Win for Cancer Alley Residents, EPA Finalizes Rule Targeting Toxic Polluters (TruthOut)
EPA issues new rules requiring over 200 chemical plants to reduce emissions linked to cancer (KPLC)
You can read the full press release below:
EPA Takes Historic Action: Frontline Delegation from Cancer Alley Secures Unprecedented Environmental Justice Win
Administrator Regan Signs HON Rule Into Effect,
Catalyzing Air Quality Improvements and Accountability in Cancer Alley
WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2024) - During EPA Administrator Michael Regan’s Journey to Justice visit to Cancer Alley in the fall of 2021, RISE St. James Louisiana, Concerned Citizens of St. John, and other community representatives met with the Administrator to share their concerns around air quality, how cancer has torn apart nearly every family in the area, and how previous EPA administrations have failed to address the systemic issues that created Cancer Alley.
Today, as a direct result of that visit, Administrator Regan signed the HON rule into effect. HON is a class of hazardous chemicals which are released most commonly from petrochemical and other fossil fuel based industries, and this new rule sets tighter limits on the amounts that can be released and requires facilities to conduct stringent air monitoring of six different hazardous chemicals.
Speaking about the historic visit and this resulting rule, RISE St. James Louisiana Founder and Executive Director Sharon Lavigne stated that, “Administrator Regan cared. He is the first person who ever came down to see us about this. What he did today is what no one else tried to do. It’s the beginning of us being able to breathe clean air. He listened to citizens, not politicians, and that makes a difference, because our local politicians aren’t truthful about pollution. President Biden appointed the right person to lead the EPA, and I’m elated to have been a part of this announcement.”
RISE St. James Louisiana Executive Assistant Shamyra Lavigne Davey added that, “Administrator Regan came and he listened for the whole time. We had community members tell their stories, we took him to the Burton Lane neighborhood sandwiched between two industries, and he was able to see how these community members are affected. It was the first time we really felt heard and seen.”
Today’s new HON rule applies to facilities that produce, emit, or store six hazardous chemicals: ethylene oxide, chloroprene, vinyl chloride, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and ethylene dichloride. These chemicals are common pollutants across Cancer Alley; five out of six have previously been featured as Chemicals of the Month by RISE St. James Louisiana.
Ethylene oxide is highly carcinogenic, with fenceline communities experiencing cancer risks 24 times higher than the surrounding areas. The proposed Formosa Plastics plant’s permits would allow it to emit 7.7 tons of ethylene oxide per year, and it would be the second largest emitter of ethylene oxide in the state.
Chloroprene exposure is particularly harmful to children, with early exposure linked to a variety of cancers in later life including breast cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer. The Denka DuPont facility in St. John the Baptist Parish is the nation’s largest producer and emitter of chloroprene, and residents of St. John Parish have a cancer risk at least 47 times the national average.
Vinyl chloride exposure is linked with a rare form of liver cancer as well as cancer of the brain and lungs. Vinyl chloride was spilled and then burned during the train derailment disaster in East Palestine Ohio, and is widely emitted throughout the Lake Charles and Baton Rouge areas. Formosa Plastics’ plant in Point Comfort, TX is the single highest emitter of vinyl chloride in the country.
A single exposure to high levels of benzene can cause later liver cancer, and long term exposure can cause leukemia. A worker exposed at 10 ppm of benzene for 40 years- which is normal exposure for a plant worker- is 155 times more likely to die from leukemia than an unexposed worker.
Long term 1,3 butadiene exposure can cause leukemia, blood disorders, and cardiovascular disease, as well as reproductive problems and birth defects. 7% of the national emissions of 1,3 butadiene, about 680,000 pounds, come from Cancer Alley plants.
Ethylene dichloride is emitted in large amounts around Lake Charles, and long term exposure can cause stomach, breast, and liver cancer.
RISE St. James Louisiana was a plaintiff in a complaint against the previous EPA administration regarding the HON rule, seeking to compel EPA to conduct overdue research, safety review, and rulemaking that EPA is required to conduct at least every eight years for these especially hazardous chemicals. However, despite having new data about the carcinogenic nature of ethylene oxide and chloroprene, EPA had not updated its HON standards since 2006. As part of the settlement in that complaint, EPA committed to finalizing this new HON rule that incorporates new data on human health outcomes and best pollution control and detection technology.
The HON rule affects Cancer Alley in several meaningful ways:
Plants that make the synthetic rubber neoprene emit chloroprene during the manufacturing process, like Denka DuPont, will have 90 days to comply with new fenceline monitoring requirements and ambient air standards.
The loopholes that allowed facilities to exceed their air permits during shutdown, startup, and natural disasters like hurricanes have been closed. Air permitting regulations will now apply during these routine and foreseeable events. Because of this loophole, plants were not taking steps to safely shut down facilities when hurricanes approached, but instead relied on flaring and unpermitted releases. After Shell Norco lost power in Hurricane Ida, it flared for days on end, releasing unknown quantities of benzene and 1,3 butadiene. During Hurricanes Harvey and Laura, Texas petrochemical plants released at least 5.5 million and 8 million tons of hazardous chemicals respectively, including benzene and 1,3 butadiene.
New facilities that plan to open in Cancer Alley, like Formosa Plastics, will be subject to these strict monitoring and air quality rules in order to get permitting approval.
In a disappointing change from the proposed rule released last year, ethylene oxide emitting plants will have two years instead of one to come into compliance with the air monitoring requirements. Additionally, EPA rejected public comments calling for real time fenceline monitoring of ethylene oxide, stating that it "did not find these approaches to currently be technically or economically feasible."
Speaking about air monitoring, Caitlion O Hunter, Research and Policy Coordinator for RISE St. James Louisiana, stated that, “Real-time air monitoring is one of the best tools available to fenceline communities to be able to make decisions about evacuation and to hold polluters accountable for their toxic emissions. Although the air monitoring requirements in the HON rule are a start, it may take up to three years for plants to report any air data, so community air monitoring is crucially important to fill these gaps. In fact, across all of Cancer Alley, LDEQ conducts no publically available monitoring of any of the six chemicals covered in the HON rule. RISE is currently fighting industry-backed bills which seek to limit the power of community air monitoring to keep fenceline neighborhoods further in the dark about the air they breathe.”
In response to Denka’s statement in opposition to the HON rule, Hunter adds that “Implementing these rules is estimated to cost a facility only $750,000 per year. Denka’s statements regarding shutdowns and losses of jobs are unfounded, considering it posted profits of over $600 million dollars last year. No job is worth exposing the schoolchildren of Fifth Ward elementary to Denka’s dangerous chloroprene emissions, or the students of St. Louis Academy to ethylene oxide from the proposed Formosa Plastics plant.”
RISE St. James Louisiana was founded when Sharon Lavigne learned that Formosa Plastics was proposing to construct a $12 billion dollar facility, comprising 14 separate petrochemical plants, less than 2 miles from her home. Ethylene oxide, 1,3 butadiene, and benzene were among the 800 tons of toxic pollution Formosa Plastics planned to emit. Because the HON rule applies immediately to new facilities, Lavigne stated that, “Formosa will soon have to go back to the drawing board to apply for air permits that will have to comply with today’s HON rule. We will be there every step of the way. I was glad to hear that Formosa Plastics will not be able to open because their proposed ethylene oxide emissions levels are so high. Formosa is history, and now this is the proof.”
Administrator Regan gave Sharon Lavigne the pen he used to sign the new HON rule, and she plans to frame it as a memento of this historic day for RISE St. James Louisiana, Cancer Alley, and all fenceline communities across the country.
Media Contact: info@risestjames.org