On a High Note: Proposed "Cancer Alley" Plant Gets Cancelled by Federal Judge

On a High Note: Cancer Alley Plastic Plant Gets Shut Down

A Louisiana district court struck down air permits for a proposed $9.4 billion plastics plant for violating environmental rules and because, according to the judge, “the agency's environmental justice analysis showed disregard for and was contrary to substantiated competent public evidence in the record, it was arbitrary and capricious.”

If constructed, the plant would roughly double toxic emissions in its local area and emit up to 13 million tons of greenhouse gases a year, making it one of the largest single sources of carbon emissions in the US. Moreover, the plant would have been built in an area known as “Cancer Alley,” which houses a quarter of the petrochemical production in the US and has some of the worst air quality in the country due to industrial pollution. Because the communities surrounding these industrial facilities are predominantly Black, the high pollution levels authorized by the state are an expression of environmental racism and violate residents’ civil rights.

Moreover, the plant would have been built in an area known as “Cancer Alley,” which houses a quarter of the petrochemical production in the US and has some of the worst air quality in the country due to industrial pollution. Because the communities surrounding these industrial facilities are predominantly Black, the high pollution levels authorized by the state are an expression of environmental racism and violate residents’ civil rights.

The YEARS Project: Fighting Polluting Industry in Cancer Alley, June 19, 2022.

Plastic produces carbon emissions at nearly every point of its lifecycle. If the plastics industry were a country, it would be the world's fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, according to a 2021 report from Beyond Plastics. Only approximately 20% of plastic actually gets recycled, and dangerous viruses can hitch rides on microplastics, making them even more deadly.

The Story of Stuff Project: The Story of Plastic, April 21, 2021.

This suit is just one step of many in eradicating the widespread use of plastic. The UN Environment Assembly unanimously voted to develop a treaty to end plastic pollution on a global level. Stateside, California is taking oil giant ExxonMobil to court for its role in the plastic pollution crisis.

MSNBC: New EPA Plan Cracks Down On Pollution In Communities Of Color, January 27, 2022.

UNEP: Global Plastic Pollution Agreement | A historic moment, March 2, 2022.

CBS: California's AG investigating oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, April 29, 2022.

Greenpeace: What is Environmental Racism?, March 19, 2021.

HBO: Environmental Racism | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, May 1, 2022.