According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory — a list of self-reported toxic chemical emissions — more than 428,000 pounds of vinyl chloride was released into the air by 38 industry facilities last year.
The state Departments of Environmental Quality and Health may be violating federal civil rights laws and regulations by allowing Black people to suffer disproportionate impacts from air pollution in Louisiana's industrial corridor.
Communities identified as “Sacrifice Zones” in a ProPublica analysis of toxic air pollution scored major wins this month. In one, the EPA will start monitoring the air. In another, a judge withdrew permits from a giant petrochemical complex.
An audit found that the time it takes the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to issue penalties to polluters has doubled. Some companies that have been known to violate air quality rules were able to keep at it for years, or even decades.
