Communities around US grapple with toxic chemical exposure: Report

Environmentalists in the US are calling on the Joe Biden administration to take concrete measures to stop the spread of toxic chemicals by plastic industries after the devastating fallout of the train derailment in Ohio in February.

According to reports in the US media, environmentalists in the country have stepped up their fight against industrial pollution after the Ohio incident as communities across the country grapple with toxic chemical exposure. 

In an incident in East Palestine, Ohio, while a train carrying more than 100 oil tankers derailed and crashed into a gas station causing an explosion and fire, shone a spotlight on the problem, environmentalists fear such incidents can repeat anywhere in the country.

The US government needs to pay more attention to the pollutants released in the environment, activist Shamell Lavigne with local environmental justice organization Rise St. James, which operates in the Louisiana state’s notorious “Cancer Alley”, was reported as saying by The Hill on Sunday.

The infamous “Cancer Alley” is an industrial corridor where residents are regularly exposed to a range of toxic substances. Residents there face a risk of developing cancer about 51 percent higher than the average in the country, according to a 2012 study.

Lavigne said the situation in other parts of the country also needed attention, pointing out that “Cancer Alley” in particular deserved attention. 

She said her area is home to many different chemicals that her organization launched a “chemical of the month” education campaign to tell the community about the negative impacts of each one. 

“Right now the chemical of the month is chloroprene, next month it’ll be vinyl chloride,” Lavigne said in March, adding that the campaign had been ongoing since September.

Environmentalists complain that while government measures in fighting dangerous pollutants had proven too little, some changes were coming about.

Lavigne said the local Environmental Protection  Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan had recently visited Louisiana’s St. John the Baptist Parish, which includes part of Cancer Alley, to announce a proposal that aims to cut down on how much of these chemicals plants are allowed to emit. 

The chemicals targeted by the rule include carcinogens such as vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide and benzene.

Environmental activists applauded the move as an important step forward. But some still say more action is needed to address the problems of industrial pollution. 

ME