Environmental racism and Formosa Plastics in St. James

Communities of color have known for years what the media began to devote more attention to during the COVID-19 pandemic this past year: that there are disturbing health disparities between white and non-white Americans. 

Those health disparities can have a lot to do with the pollution levels in the areas where people live. The fact that Black and brown Americans are more likely to live in polluted environments and not because of their own choosing is a phenomenon referred to as “environmental racism.”

There are places in Louisiana where it seems Black communities are targeted by major polluters, and no one in power wants to step in to stop it. There was St. John the Baptist civil parish and the Denka Performance Elastomer in Reserve, profiled recently in USA Today. 

There was Sasol Limited’s takeover of the town of Mossville, a story whose racial aspects were documented in the 2019 film “Mossville: When Great Trees Fall.”

And in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, the heart of Cancer Alley, there is another massive petrochemical plant that could be built which will disproportionately endanger the lives of Black families including the unborn through alarming pollution levels: the Formosa Plastics Sunshine Project. 

The Taiwanese-owned Formosa Plastics “Sunshine Project” is a massive, $9.4 billion petrochemical complex that could begin major construction early 2021. It will be one of the largest plastics plants in the world, composed of 14 plants stretching over 2,400 acres in St. James civil parish. If built, the plant will be fully operational by 2029.

District 5 in St. James is 85% Black, and the complex could potentially pollute the air with thousands of tons of chemicals within walking distance of a nearly 100% Black elementary school. To add insult to injury, the plant might also be built upon the blessed graves of enslaved Black Americans. 

Health risks will increase for residents within dozens of miles of the site. For example, the Sunshine Project will be one of the top five emitters of ethylene oxide (ETO) in the United States, potentially emitting 7.7 tons of ETO into the air every year. An EPA report states: “EPA has concluded that ethylene oxide is carcinogenic to humans by the inhalation route of exposure. Evidence in humans indicates that exposure to ethylene oxide increases the risk of lymphoid cancer and, for females, breast cancer.”

Besides making Cancer Alley more cancerous, the Sunshine Project will be dangerous for unborn children. Exposure to ETO by pregnant women has been shown to increase the risk of preterm births and spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), and exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone has been repeatedly linked to a significant rise in risk of preterm births, stillbirths and low birth weight. 

The Sunshine Project will be allowed to emit 339.81 tons of PM2.5 each year. Ozone is caused by a reaction between volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) on hot days, and the Sunshine Project will be allowed to emit 1242.53 tons of NOx and 1667.89 tons of VOC per year. 

A recent report showed that Louisiana has the second highest preterm birth rate in the country at 13%. The preterm birth rate for African American babies is 17%. Formosa Plastics could increase those rates even more, and yet elected officials appear to be allowing it to happen.

“Formosa Plastics would be a death sentence for St. James Parish,” says Sharon Lavigne, a parishioner at St. James Catholic Church in St. James. “Our friends and loved ones are already getting sick and dying from all the toxic plants here.”

Lavigne is the founder and director of RISE St. James, an organization dedicated to environmental justice in the St. James community. She has been leading the fight against Formosa Plastics, and she helped to organize an All Saints Day prayer service led by Bishop Michael G. Duca on Oct. 31 at the grave sites.

At the prayer service, Lavigne noted that it was not too late to stop this injustice.

“I have been to over 30 funerals in the last five years. I lost the love of my life to these cancer-causing plants,” she said. “It’s too late to bring him back, but it’s not too late for the parish council to save our children and grandchildren. It’s not too late for the parish council to protect our families, our community and our parish.”

In a tragic way, Louisiana’s allowance of the Sunshine Project shows the connection between racism, a disregard for the culture of life and the problem of an economic plan that does not focus on integral human development as outlined by Popes Paul VI, Benedict XVI and Francis.

Local activists have achieved some significant victories in their fight against Formosa Plastics recently. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in November that it would temporarily suspend its permit for Formosa Plastics in order to engage in a re-evaluation process, and a state district judge ordered the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to reassess its permits for Formosa Plastics in light of the plant’s impact on the Black community. 

The project is not dead, however. Catholics who want to help can call or write to the St. James Parish Council and ask them to revoke the land usage permits given to Formosa Plastics. They can also call or write Gov. Edwards and ask him to direct the LDEQ to revoke the air permits granted to Formosa Plastics. 

At the end of the prayer service at the gravesites in St. James, Bishop Duca prayed for those who would be most affected by the presence of the plant. “Bless their work,” he prayed, “that all might be heard and true justice can prevail.”