According to the EPA, cancer risk in the community of Reserve, Louisiana is about 50 times the national average—and a neoprene plant is caught in the crosshairs.
— Up and down Lydia Gerard's street in the small Louisiana community of Reserve, she points to the homes of neighbors who have either died of cancer, or now have a terminal diagnosis of the disease.— a town with a majority-Black population — the Denka Performance Elastomer plant makes neoprene, a synthetic rubber. One of its components, chloroprene, a known carcinogen, is released regularly into the air.
"The monitoring stations show that it's unacceptable," environmental scientist Dr. Kimberly Terrell, a professor at the Tulane University School of Law, said of the toxicity levels at the school.co-authored by Terrell found a link between cancer and toxic air pollution in places like Reserve. In a statement provided to CBS News, Denka said it has reduced chloroprene emissions by 85% and invested $35 million to reduce pollution. However, the Justice Department contends Denka has not moved quickly enough to address the issue, and Terrell agrees.
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