WORLD NEWS | EPA proposal takes health risks near US chemical plants

WASHINGTON, April 7 (AP) — In a potentially major move for communities facing air pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed Thursday that chemical plants across the country measure certain harmful compounds beyond the boundaries of their properties and Reduce them when they are too high.

The EPA said the proposed rule would reduce cancer and other risks in communities living near harmful emissions. The data will be made public, and the results will force companies to address increasing emissions.

Read also | King Charles III backs a review of slavery ties to the British royal family’s history.

“This is probably the most important rule I’ve come across in the 30 years I’ve worked in cancer research,” said Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She mentioned the intense petrochemical development along the Gulf Coast.

In the past, even when emissions caused harm, residents were unable to sue and reduce the threat, Wright said.

Read also | Ontario temple attack: India condemns vandalism of Hindu temple in Ontario, calls on Canada to arrest perpetrators.

The proposed measures also aim to address short-term emissions spikes at plant startups, shutdowns and breakdowns. If finalized, the proposal would affect about 200 chemical plants, the agency said.

Fence line monitoring has long been a priority of the environmental justice movement, and many refinery communities have won it over in recent years. The measure would extend some of those changes to a national level.

EPA Administrator Michael Reagan announced the plan at St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana. It is home to the Denka Chemical Plant, which produces synthetic rubber and emits chloroprene, which is listed as a carcinogen in California. Denka is less than a half mile from an elementary school and has been targeted by federal officials for allegedly increasing cancer risk in the nearby predominantly black neighborhood.

“For generations, our most vulnerable communities have unjustly borne the burden of breathing unsafe, polluted air,” Reagan said.

Data shows that emissions from the plant have decreased significantly over time, and fence line monitoring has been undertaken.

A statement provided by Denka Performance Elastomer said the cancer risk of chloroprene had been exaggerated and prompted the EPA to reassess its risk assessment.

Jorge Lavastida, Denka executive and plant manager, said: “The people of St. John the Baptist Parish deserve the latest and accurate scientific information about the health risks in their community.”

The EPA said in the document that the plant still poses a threat to nearby residents.

The changes also centered on manufacturers of ethylene oxide, which is commonly used to sterilize medical equipment. Long-term exposure to this chemical increases the risk of lymphoma and breast cancer. The agency plans to issue proposed regulations for medical sterilization facilities in the near future.

The proposal would reduce nationwide ethylene oxide emissions by about two-thirds and chloroprene emissions by three-quarters from a 2020 baseline, according to the agency. Emissions that make smog worse will also be reduced.

Industrial emissions have declined over the past decade, according to the American Chemistry Council. It raised concerns about the EPA’s proposal to reduce ethylene oxide, saying the proposal was based on faulty EPA risk assessments.

“Overly conservative regulations on ethylene oxide could threaten the use of products ranging from electric vehicle batteries to sterilized medical devices,” said committee spokesman Tom Flanagin, adding, The EPA may be speeding up work on important regulations.

Regan visited the same parish on a five-day trip from Mississippi to Texas in 2021 to highlight low-income and mostly minority communities hurt by industrial pollution.

Then last year, the EPA said it had evidence that black residents faced a higher risk of cancer from the Denka chemical plant, while state officials allowed pollution to remain too high. The agency’s letter is part of an investigation under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which stipulates that anyone who receives federal funds cannot be discriminated against on the basis of race or national origin.

Next, federal officials sued Denka in February to reduce emissions. Now, they’re proposing tighter regulation of chemical plants.

“It’s a day to celebrate,” Wright said. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)