A southeast Louisiana school board voted on Thursday to shut down a predominantly Black elementary school adjacent to a petrochemical facility embroiled in multiple lawsuits linked to its high levels of toxic emissions.
Denka Performance Elastomer LLC produces the synthetic rubber neoprene used for wetsuits, laptop sleeves and other common products. The facility emits the likely carcinogen chloroprene at such high concentrations that it exposes the surrounding majority Black community to an unacceptable cancer risk, according to a 2023 federal complaint brought against Denka on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency.
