The Trump administration has ended a significant environmental justice case in Louisiana, which targeted a synthetic rubber plant linked to high cancer rates in majority-Black communities. Originally filed under Biden for emission reductions of chloroprene, a carcinogen, this lawsuit aimed to hold both Denka and DuPont accountable. With a trial set for April 2025, local leaders expressed concern about the implications of this dismissal, viewing it as part of a broader neglect of environmental justice. Activists worry about the loss of protections for the community, as Trump's policies reportedly undermine EPA efforts.
It's obvious that the Trump administration doesn't care anything for the poor Black folk in Cancer Alley. [Trump's] administration has taken away what protections we had, what little hope we had.
The litigation was filed under the Biden administration in February 2023 in a bid to substantially curb the plant's emissions of a pollutant named chloroprene, a likely human carcinogen.
Community leaders in Reserve had expressed grave concerns about the case's future following Trump's return to the White House after the president moved to gut offices within the EPA and justice department responsible for civil rights.
Legal filings show that Trump's Department of Justice agreed to dismiss a long-running lawsuit against the operators of a synthetic rubber plant in Reserve, Louisiana.
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