Plastics, polution, and burial grounds in Louisiana
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[/caption]Last week, we joined residents of St. James Parish, Louisiana, environmental justice groups, and legal organizations to urge the St. James Parish Council to rescind its decision to allow Formosa Plastics to build a massive petrochemical facility in a predominantly Black community. New and alarming information has been revealed about the levels of cancer-causing chemicals the facility would emit, the company’s failure to follow through on its promise to lessen exposure to school children and residents nearby, and its failure to alert parish officials and residents of the existence of graves of enslaved people on the land.
The requests by RISE St. James, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Earthjustice, and the Center for Constitutional Rights come after reports that the area where Formosa Plastics wants to build is already more toxic than 99.6 percent of industrialized parts of the country with cancer-causing chemicals. Reports also indicate the plant would triple the toxic levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the area.
“We continue to fight for our lives against these toxic industries, and now we are fighting for our ancestors too,” said Sharon Lavigne, founder and president of RISE St. James.
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