More than 200 chemical plants nationwide will be required to reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer under a new rule issued Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The rule advances President Joe Biden바카라s commitment to environmental justice by delivering critical health protections for communities burdened by industrial pollution from ethylene oxide, chloroprene and other dangerous chemicals, officials said.
Areas that will benefit from the new rule include majority-Black neighborhoods outside New Orleans that EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited as part of his 2021 Journey to Justice tour. The rule will significantly reduce emissions of chloroprene and other harmful pollutants at the Denka Performance Elastomer facility in LaPlace, Louisiana, the largest source of chloroprene emissions in the country, Regan said.
바카라Every community in this country deserves to breathe clean air. That바카라s why I took the Journey to Justice tour to communities like St. John the Baptist Parish, where residents have borne the brunt of toxic air for far too long,바카라 Regan said. 바카라We promised to listen to folks that are suffering from pollution and act to protect them. Today we deliver on that promise with strong final standards to slash pollution, reduce cancer risk and ensure cleaner air for nearby communities.바카라
When combined with a rule issued last month cracking down on ethylene oxide emissions from commercial sterilizers used to clean medical equipment, the new rule will reduce ethylene oxide and chloroprene emissions by nearly 80%, officials said.
The rule will apply to 218 facilities spread across the United States 바카라 more than half in Texas or Louisiana. Plants also are located in two dozen other states, including Ohio and other Midwest states, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and throughout the South, the EPA said. The action updates several regulations on chemical plant emissions that have not been tightened in nearly two decades.
Democratic Rep. Troy Carter, whose Louisiana district includes the Denka plant, called the new rule 바카라a monumental step바카라 to safeguard public health and the environment.
바카라Communities deserve to be safe. I바카라ve said this all along,바카라' Carter told reporters at a briefing Monday. 바카라It must begin with proper regulation. It must begin with listening to the people who are impacted in the neighborhoods, who undoubtedly have suffered the cost of being in close proximity of chemical plants 바카라 but not just chemical plants, chemical plants that don바카라t follow the rules.바카라'
Carter said it was 바카라critically important that measures like this are demonstrated to keep the confidence of the American people.바카라'
The American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, said it was reviewing the rule but criticized EPA바카라s use of what it called 바카라a deeply flawed바카라바카라 method to determine the toxicity of ethylene oxide.
바카라We also remain concerned with the recent onslaught of chemical regulations being put forth by this administration,바카라' the group said in a statement. Without a different approach, 바카라the availability of critical chemistries will dwindle바카라바카라 in the U.S., harming the country바카라s supply chain, the ACC said.
The new rule will slash more than 6,200 tons (5,624 metric tonnes) of toxic air pollutants annually and implement fenceline monitoring, the EPA said, addressing health risks in surrounding communities and promoting environmental justice in Louisiana and other states.
The Justice Department sued Denka last year, saying it had been releasing unsafe concentrations of chloroprene near homes and schools. Federal regulators had determined in 2016 that chloroprene emissions from the Denka plant were contributing to the highest cancer risk of any place in the United States.
Denka, a Japanese company that bought the former DuPont rubber-making plant in 2015, said it 바카라vehemently opposes바카라 the EPA바카라s latest action.
바카라EPA바카라s rulemaking is yet another attempt to drive a policy agenda that is unsupported by the law or the science,바카라 Denka said in a statement, adding that the agency has alleged its facility 바카라represents a danger to its community, despite the facility바카라s compliance with its federal and state air permitting requirements.바카라
The Denka plant, which makes synthetic rubber, has been at the center of protests over pollution in majority-Black communities and EPA efforts to curb chloroprene emissions, particularly in the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor, an 85-mile (137-kilometer) industrial region known informally as Cancer Alley. Denka said it already has invested more than $35 million to reduce chloroprene emissions.
The EPA, under pressure from local activists, agreed to open a civil rights investigation of the plant to determine if state officials were putting Black residents at increased cancer risk. The agency initially found evidence of discrimination, but in June it dropped its investigation without releasing any official findings and without any commitments from the state to change its practices.
Regan said the rule issued Tuesday was separate from the civil rights investigation. He called the rule 바카라very ambitious,바카라' adding that officials took care to ensure 바카라that we protect all of these communities, not just those in Cancer Alley, but communities in Texas and Puerto Rico and other areas that are threatened by these hazardous air toxic pollutants.바카라'
While it focuses on toxic emissions, 바카라by its very nature, this rule is providing protection to environmental justice communities 바카라 Black and brown communities, low-income communities 바카라 that have suffered for far too long,바카라' Regan said.
Patrice Simms, vice president of the environmental law firm Earthjustice, called the rule 바카라a victory in our pursuit for environmental justice.바카라
Fenceline monitoring for six toxic air pollutants 바카라 ethylene oxide, chloroprene, vinyl chloride, benzene, 1,3-butadiene and ethylene dichloride 바카라 will be crucial to ensure accountability and transparency, Simms and other advocates said. The new rule marks just the second time that EPA has mandated fenceline monitoring in air toxics standards under the Clean Air Act.
바카라For years, we바카라ve watched our families and neighbors suffer from disease, like cancer, due to underregulated emissions,바카라 said Robert Taylor, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John, a local advocacy group.
After the EPA closed its civil rights complaint, 바카라we felt little hope that any government could protect us from industry,바카라' Taylor said. The new rule is 바카라renewing our hope,바카라' he said.
